-/  ■ -i 


I 


O 


i- 

J ■ 


,r 


i’  - 


P' 


I 


I 


!■ 


-li 


X A 

■ -y 


CHINESE  PAINTERS 


CHINESE  PAINTERS 

A CRITICAL  STUDY 

BY 

RAPHAEL  PETRUCCI 

TRANSLATED  BY 

FRANCES  SHAVER 
WITH  A BIOGRAPHICAL  NOTE  BY 
LAURENCE  BINYON 

OF  THE  BRITISH  MUSEUM  ‘ 

AND  WITH  TWENTY-FIVE  ILLUSTRATIONS  IN  DUOTONE 


NEW  YORK 
BRENTANO’S 
PUBLISHERS 


COPYRIGHT,  1920,  BY 
BRENTANO’S 


All  rights  reserved 


THE-PLIMPTON'PRESS 
NORWOOD-  MASS-  U-  S A 


PREFACE 


A TRANSLATOR  can  have  but  one  aim  — to 
present  the  thought  of  the  author  faithfully. 
In  this  case  an  added  responsibility  is  involved, 
since  one  who  had  so  much  to  give  to  the  world  has  been 
taken  in  his  prime.  M.  Petrucci  has  written  at  length 
of  art  in  the  Far  East  in  his  exhaustive  work  La  Philo- 
Sophie  de  la  Nature  dans  V Art  d'Extreme  Orient  and 
elsewhere,  and  has  demonstrated  the  wide  scope  of 
his  thought  and  learning.  The  form  and  style  in 
Peintres  Chinois  are  the  result  of  much  condensa- 
tion of  material  and  have  thus  presented  problems 
in  translation,  to  which  earnest  thought  has  been  given. 

In  deference  to  the  author’s  wish  the  margin  has 
not  been  overladen  and  only  a short  tribute,  by  one 
able  to  speak  of  him  from  personal  knowledge,  has 
been  included,  together  with  a few  footnotes  and  a 
short  bibliography  of  works  of  reference  indespensable 
to  the  student  who  will  pursue  this  absorbing  study. 
The  translator  takes  this  opportunity  to  make  grate- 
ful aeknowledgement  of  her  debt  to  the  authors  named, 
who  have  made  such  valuable  information  available, 
and  to  those  friends  who  have  read  the  manuscript 
and  made  many  helpful  suggestions. 


Frances  Shaver 


BIOGRAPHICAL  NOTE 


IN  Raphael  Petrucci,  who  died  early  in  1917,  the 
world  has  lost  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  devoted 
students  and  interpreters  of  the  art  of  the  Far 
East.  He  was  only  forty-five  years  of  age,  in  the  prime 
of  his  powers,  brimming  with  energy  and  full  of  enter- 
prises that  promised  richly.  Though  he  did  not  die  in 
the  field,  he  was  none  the  less  a victim  of  the  war.  He 
had  exhausted  himself  by  his  labours  with  the  Bel- 
gian ambulances  at  La  Panne,  for  Belgium  was  his 
adopted  country.  He  had  a house  in  Brussels,  filled 
with  a collection  of  Chinese  and  Japanese  art,  and  a 
little  cottage  near  the  coast  just  over  the  borders  of 
Holland.  He  came  of  the  great  and  ancient  Sienese 
family  of  the  Petrucci,  but  his  mother  was  French  and 
he  spent  much  of  his  earlier  life  in  Paris,  before  settling 
in  Brussels  and  marrying  one  of  the  daughters  of  the 
painter  Verwee.  He  had  also  spent  some  time  in 
Russia.  In  Brussels  he  was  attached  to  the  Institut 
Solvay. 

He  was  a man  of  science,  a student  of  and  writer  on 
sociology  and  biology.  He  lectured  on  art  and  had  a 
knowledge  of  the  art  of  the  world  which  few  men  in 
Europe  rivalled.  He  wrote  a philosophic  novel,  La 
Porte  de  r Amour  et  de  la  Mori,  which  has  run  through 


8 


BIOGRAPHICAL  NOTE  . 


several  editions.  He  published  a book  on  Michel- 
angelo’s poetry.  At  the  same  time  he  was  a scientific 
engineer.  When  war  broke  out  Petrucci  was  on  his 
way  home  from  Italy,  where  he  had  been  engaged,  I 
believe,  on  some  large  engineering  project  and  he  only 
got'  out  of  Switzerland  into  France  by  the  last  train 
which  left  Basle.  He  came  to  England  for  a time,  look- 
ing after  a number  of  Belgian  refugees,  including  some 
very  distinguished  artists.  At  the  end  of  1914  he  was 
engaged  by  the  India  office  to  do  some  valuable  work 
in  London  on  the  collection  of  Chinese  and  Tibetan 
paintings  brought  back  from  Tun-huang  by  Sir  Aurel 
Stein.  He  then  worked  at  La  Panne  for  the  Belgian 
army  hospital  (he  had  had  a medical  training  in  his 
youth),  went  to  Provence  for  a rest,  fell  ill  and  died  in 
Paris  after  an  operation. 

Raphael  Petrucci  was  a man  who  seemed  to  rein- 
carnate the  boundless  curiosity  and  the  various  ability 
of  the  men  of  the  Italian  Renaissance.  But  for  some 
years  before  his  death  he  had  concentrated  his  powers 
chiefly  on  the  study  of  Oriental  art,  of  the  Chinese 
language,  and  of  Buddhist  iconography.  His  most 
important  work  in  this  line  is  La  Philosophie  de  la 
Nature  dans  FArt  d'Extreme  Orient,  a sumptuously 
printed  folio  published  by  Laurens  in  Paris,  with  il- 
lustrations by  the  Kokka  Company,  and  written  with 
as  much  charm  as  insight.  Petrucci’s  knowledge  of 
Chinese  gave  him  an  authority  in  interpreting  Chinese 
art  which  writers  on  the  subject  have  rarely  combined 


BIOGRAPHICAL  NOTE 


9 

with  so  much  understanding  of  art  in  general,  though 
as  a connoiseur  he  was  sometimes  over-sanguine.  His 
translation  from  a classic  of  Chinese  art-criticism, 
originally  published  in  a learned  magazine,  has  lately 
appeared  in  book  form.  With  his  friend,  Professor 
Chavannes,  whose  death,  also  in  the  prime  of  life,  we 
have  had  to  deplore  still  more  recently,  Petrucci  edited 
the  first  volume  of  the  splendid  series  Ars  Asiatica. 
The  present  work,  intended  for  the  general  reader  and 
lover  of  art,  illustrates  his  gift  for  luminous  condensa- 
tion and  the  happy  treatment  of  a large  theme. 

A man  of  winning  manners,  a most  generous  and 
loyal  friend,  Petrucci  wore  his  manifold  learning 
lightly;  with  immense  energy  and  force  of  character, 
he  was  simple  and  warm-hearted  and  interested  in  the 
small  things  as  well  as  the  great  things  of  life. 

Laurence  Binyon 


British  Museum 
October,  1919 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Preface  by  the  Translator 5 

Biographical  Note  by  Laurence  Binyon 7 

Introduction 15 

PART  ONE.  TECHNIQUE 

I.  Equipment  of  the  Painter 21 

II.  Representation  of  Forms 26 

III.  Division  of  Subjects 33 

■ IV.  Inspiration 38 

PART  TWO.  THE  EVOLUTION  OF  CHINESE 
PAINTING 

I.  Origins 45 

II.  Before  the  Intervention  of  Buddhism 46 

HI.  The  Intervention  of  Buddhism 54 

IV.  The  T’ang  Period — 7TH  to  ioth  Centuries...  58 

V.  The  Sung  Period — ioth  to  13TH  Centuries....  72 

VI.  The  Yuan  Period — 13TH  and  14TH  Centuries..  92 

VII.  The  Ming  Period — 14TH  to  17TH  Centuries.  . . 114 

VIII.  The  Ch’ing  Period — i-th  to  2oth  Centuries.  ..  . 131 

Conclusion 140 

Bibliography 149 

Index  of  Painters  and  Periods 15 1 


1 1 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

I.  Sculptured  stones  of  the  Han  dynasty.  Second  to 
third  centuries.  Rubbings  taken  by  the 

Chavannes  expedition 23 

II.  Portion  of  a scroll  by  Ku  K’ai-chih.  British  Mu- 
seum, London 27 

III.  Kwanyin.  Eighth  to  tenth  centuries.  Painting 

brought  from  Tun-huang  by  the  Pelliot  expedi- 
tion. The  Louvre,  Paris 31 

IV.  Palace  of  Kiu  Cheng-kung  by  Li  Chao-tao.  T’ang 

period.  Collection  of  V.  Goloubew 34 

V.  Portrait  of  Lii  Tung-ping  by  T’eng  Ch’ang-yu. 

T’ang  period.  Collection  of  August  Jaccaci. 

Lent  to  the  Metropolitan  Museum,  New  York.*  39 

VI.  Painting  by  an  unknown  artist.  T’ang  period. 

Collection  of  R.  Petrucci 47 

VII.  Geese.  Sung  period.  British  Museum,  London.  . 51 

VIII.  White  Eagle.  Sung  period.  Collection  of  R. 

Petrucci 59 

IX.  Horseman  followed  by  two  attendants.  Sung 

period.  Collection  of  A.  Stoclet 63 

X.  Landscape  in  the  style  of  Hsia  Kuei.  Sung  period. 

Collection  of  Martin  White 67 

XL  Landscape  by  Ma  Lin.  Sung  period.  Collection 

of  R.  Petrucci 73 

XII.  Mongol  horseman  returning  from  the  Hunt,  by  Chao 

Meng-fu.  Yiian  period.  Doucet  collection . . 77 

XIII.  Pigeons  by  Ch’ien  Hsiian.  Yiian  period.  Collec- 
tion of  R.  Petrucci 85 

* Now  owned  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Robert  Woods  Bliss. 

13 


14  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE; 

XIV.  Bamboos  in  monochrome  by  Wu  Chen.  Yiian 

period.  Musee  Guimet 93 

XV.  Paintings  of  the  Y iian  or  early  Ming  period.  Style 
of  the  Northern  School.  Collection  of  R. 

Petrucci 97 

XVI.  Portrait  of  a priest.  Yiian  or  early  Ming  period. 

Collection  of  H.  Riviere loi 

XVII.  Horse.  Painting  by  an  unknown  artist.  Yiian  or 

early  Ming  period.  Doucet  collection 105 

XVIII.  Visit  to  the  Emperor  by  the  Immortals  from  on 

high.  Ming  period.  British  Museum,  London  109 
XIX.  Egrets  by  Lin  Liang.  Ming  period.  Collection  of 

Mrs.  John  D.  Rockefeller,  Junior 115 

XX.  Flowers  and  Insects.  Ming  period.  Collection  of 

R.  Petrucci 119 

XXL  Landscape.  Ming  period.  Bouasse-Lebel  col- 
lection  125 

XXII.  Beauty  inhaling  the  fragrance  of  a peony.  Ming 

period.  Collection  of  V.  Goloubew 133 

XXIII.  Halt  of  the  Imperial  Hunt.  Ming  period.  Six- 
teenth century.  Collection  of  R.  Petrucci.  . 137 

XXIV.  Painting  by  Chang  Cheng.  Eighteenth  century. 

Collection  of  M.  Worch 141 

XXV.  Tiger  in  a Pine  Forest.  Eighteenth  to  nineteenth 

centuries.  Collection  of  V.  Goloubew 145 


INTRODUCTION 


WHATEVER  its  outward  expression,  human 
thought  remains  essentially  unchanged  and, 
throughout  all  of  its  manifestations,  ‘ is 
fundamentally  the  same.  Varying  phases  are  but 
accidents  and  underneath  the  divers  wrappings  of 
historic  periods  or  different  civilizations,  the  heart 
as  well  as  the  mind  of  man  has  been  moved  by  the 
same  desires. 

Art  possesses  a unity  like  that  of  nature.  It  is 
profound  and  stirring,  precisely  because  it  blends 
and  perpetuates  feeling  and  intelligence  by  means 
of  outward  expressions.  Of  all  human  achievements 
art  is  the  most  vital,  the  one  that  is  dowered  with 
eternal  youth,  for  it  awakens  in  the  soul  emotions 
which  neither  time  nor  civilization  has  ever  radically 
altered.  Therefore,  in  commencing  the  study  of 
an  art  of  strange  appearance,  what  we  must 
seek  primarily  is  the  exact  nature  of  the  complexity 
of  ideas  and  feelings  upon  which  it  is  based.  Such  is 
the  task  presented  to  us,  and  since  the  problem  which 

we  here  approach  is  the  general  study  of  Chinese 

15 


l6  INTRODUCTION 

painting,  we  must  prepare  ourselves  first  to  master 
the  peculiarities  of  its  appearance  and  technique,  in 
order  to  understand  later  on  the  motives  which 
inspired  it. 

While  the  first  part  of  this  study  will  carry  us  far 
from  our  habitual  modes  of  thought,  the  second  part 
will  bring  us  back  into  a domain  which  our  own  phi- 
losophies, sciences  and  arts  have  already  made  fa- 
miliar. Admittedly,  Chinese  painting  is  governed  by 
distinctive  ideas.  Born  of  a civilization  vastly  dif- 
ferent from  our  own,  it  may  at  times  appear  in  a guise 
that  seems  incomprehensible.  It  would  be  astonish- 
ing, however,  if  Western  intelligence  were  unable  to 
grasp  an  aesthetic  code  of  a magnitude  which  is  too 
great  to  be  ignored. 

The  progress  of  history  and  of  criticism  has  given 
us  the  opportunity  to  reach  a comprehension  of  the 
most  peculiar  formulas.  Our  culture  is  sufficiently 
broad  to  allow  us  to  perceive  the  beauty  of  an  Egyp- 
tian fresco  or  an  Assyrian  bas-relief  as  well  as  of  a 
Byzantine  mosaic  or  a painting  of  the  Renaissance. 
We  have  therefore  no  excuse  for  remaining  inaccessible 
to  the  art  of  the  Far  East  and  we  have  surely  all  the 
mental  vigor  that  is  requisite  in  order  to  accustom 
ourselves  to  the  foreign  nature  of  its  presentation. 
It  is  in  the  realm  of  painting  that  this  foreign  element 
is  most  noticeable.  This  is  due  partly  to  a special 
technique  and  partly  to  the  nature  of  the  doctrines 
which  serve  as  its  inspiration. 


INTRODUCTION 


17 


It  behooves  us  then  to  acquaint  ourselves  with 
these  new  aspects  of  the  human  soul.  That  is  the 
Justification  for  this  little  book.  It  forms  an  intro- 
duction in  which  gaps  are  shown  without  attempt  at 
concealment  and  is  presented  in  all  modesty. 


PART  ONE 
TECHNIQUE 


£■ 


19 


I.  EQUIPMENT  OF  THE  PAINTER 


WHERE  our  painters  have  chosen  wood  or 
canvas  as  a ground,  the  Chinese  have  em- 
ployed silk  or  paper.  While  our  art  recog- 
nizes that  drawing  itself,  quite  apart  from  painting, 
is  a sufficient  objective,  drawing  and  painting  have  al- 
ways been  closely  intermingled  in  the  Far  East.  While 
the  mediums  used  in  Europe  for  painting  in  color, 
distemper,  tempera  and  oil,  led  to  an  exact  study  of 
form,  the  colors  employed  by  the  Orientals  — at  times 
brilliant,  at  times  subdued  with  an  almost  studied 
restraint  — preserved  a singular  fluidity  and  lent  them- 
selves to  undefined  evanescences  which  gave  them  a 
surprising  charm. 

The  early  paintings  were  generally  done  on  cotton, 
coarse  silk  or  paper.  In  the  eighth  century,  u^er 
the  T’ang  dynasty,  the  use  of  finer  silk  began. 
The  dressing  was  removed  with  boiling  water,  the 
silk  was  then  sized  and  smoothed  with  a paddle. 
The  use  of  silken  fabric  of  the  finest  weave,  prepared 
with  a thick  sizing,  became  general  during  the  Sung 
dynasty.  Papers  were  made  of  vegetable  fibres,  prin- 
cipally of  bamboo.  Being  prepared,  as  was  the  silk, 

with  a sizing  of  alum,  they  became  practically  inde- 
■ - 21 


22 


CHINESE  PAINTERS 


structible.  Upon  these  silks  and  papers  the  painter 
worked  with  brush  and  Chinese  ink,^  color  being  intro- 
duced with  more  or  less  freedom  or  restraint. 

The  brushes  are  of  different  types.  Each  position  ' 
of  the  brush  conforms  to  a specific  quality  of  the  line, 
either  sharp  and  precise  or  broad  and  quivering,  the 
ink  spreading  in  strong  touches  or  thinning  to  delicate 
shades. 

The  colors  are  simple,  of  mineral  or  vegetable  origin. 
Chinese  painters  have  always  avoided  mixing  colors 
so  far  as  possible.  From  malachite  they  obtained 
several  shades  of  green,  from  cinnabar  or  sulphide  of 
mercury,  a number  of  reds.  They  knew  also  how  to 
combine  mercury,  sulphur  and  potash  to  produce 
vermilion.  From  peroxide  of  mercury  they  drew 
coloring  powders  which  furnished  shades  ranging  from 
brick  red  to  orange  yellow.  During  the  T'ang  dynasty 
coral  was  ground  to  secure  a special  red,  while  white 
was  extracted  from  burnt  oyster  shells.  White  lead 
was  later  substituted  for  this  lime  white.  Carmine 
lake  they  obtained  from  madder,  yellows  from  the 
sap  of  the  rattan,  blues  from  indigo.  To  these  must 

^ Chinese  ink  is  a very  different  composition  from  the  ink  of 
Western  countries.  It  is  a solid  made  of  soot  obtained  by  burn- 
ing certain  plants,  which  is  then  combined  with  glue  or  oil  and 
moulded  into  a cake  and  dried.  Other  ingredients  may  be  added 
to  produce  sheen  or  a dead  finish.  It  improves  with  age  if 
properly  kept.  The  cake  is  moistened  and  rubbed  on  a slab, 
and  the  ink  thus  obtained  must  be  used  in  a special  way  and 
with  special  care  to  produce  the  full  effect.  — Translator. 


PLATE  I.  SCULPTURED  STONES  OF  THE  HAN  DYNASTY 
Second  to  Third  Centuries.  Rubbings  taken  by  the  Chavannes  Expedition. 


TECHNIQUE 


25 


be  added  the  different  shades  of  Chinese  ink  and 
lastly,  gold  in  leaf  and  in  powder. 

The  brush-stroke  in  the  painting  of  the  Far  East 
is  of  supreme  importance.  We  know  that  this  could 
not  be  otherwise  if  we  recall  that  the  characters  in 
Chinese  writing  are  ideographs,  not  actually  written, 
but  rather  drawn.  The  stroke  is  not  a mere  formal, 
lifeless  sign.  It  is  an  expression  in  which  is  reflected  the 
beauty  of  the  thought  that  inspired  it  as  well  as  the 
quality  of  the  soul  of  him  who  gives  it  form.  In 
writing,  as  in  painting,  it  reveals  to  us  the  character 
and  the  conception  of  its  author.  Placed  at  the  service 
of  certain  philosophical  ideas,  which  will  be  set  forth 
later  on,  this  technique  was  bound  to  lead  to  a special 
code  of  Aesthetics.  The  painter  seeks  to  suggest  with 
an  unbrokenjine  the  fundamental  ^aracter  of  a form. 
His  endeavor,  in  this  respect,  is  to  simplify  the  objec- 
tive images  of  the  world  to  the  extreme,  replac- 
ing them  with  ideal  Images,  which  prolonged  medi- 
tation shall  have  freed  from  every  non-essential.  It 
may  therefore  be  readily  understood  how  the  brush- 
stroke becomes  so  personal  a thing,  that  in  itself  it 
serves  to  reveal  the  hand  of  the  master.  There  is  no 
Chinese  book  treating  of  painting  which  does  not  dis- 
cuss and  lay  stress  upon  the  value  of  its  aesthetic  code. 


II.  REPRESENTATION  OF  FORMS 


IT  has  often  been  said  that  in  Chinese  painting,  as 
in  Japanese  painting,  perspective  is  ignored.  Noth- 
ing is  further  from  the  truth.  This  error  arises 
from  the  fact  that  we  have  confused  one  system  of 
perspective  with  perspective  as  a whole.  There  are 
as  many  systems  of  perspective  as  there  are  conven- 
tional laws  for  the  representation  of  space. 

The  practice  of  drawing  and  painting  offers  the 
student  the  following  problem  in  descriptive  geometry: 
to  represent  the  three  dimensions  of  space  by  means  of 
a plane  surface  of  two  dimensions.  The  Egyptians 
and  Assyrians  solved  this  problem  by  throwing  down 
vertical  objects  upon  one  plane,  which  demands  a 
. great  effort  of  abstraction  on  the  part  of  the  observer. 
European  perspective,  built  up  in  the  fifteenth  century 
upon  the  remains  of  the  geometric  knowledge  of  the 
Greeks,  is  based  on  the  monocular  theory  used  by  the 
latter.  In  this  system,  it  is  assumed  that  the  picture 
is  viewed  with  the  eye  fixed  on  a single  point.  There- 
fore the  conditions  of  foreshortening  — or  distorting 
the  actual  dimensions  according  to  the  angle  from 
which  they  are  seen  — are  governed  by  placing  in  har- 
mony the  distance  of  the  eye  from  the  scheme  of  the 

26 


PLATE  II.  PORTION  OF  A SCROLL  BY  KU  K’AI-CHIH 
British  Museum,  London. 


TECHNIQUE 


29 

picture,  the  height  of  the  eye  in  relation  to  the  objects 
to  be  depicted,  and  the  relative  position  of  these 
objects  with  reference  to  the  surface  employed. 

But,  in  assuming  that  the  picture  is  viewed  with  the 
eye  fixed  on  a single  point,  we  put  ourselves  in  condi- 
tions which  are  not  those  of  nature.  The  European 
painter  must  therefore  compromise  with  the  exigencies 
of  binocular  vision,  modify  the  too  abrupt  fading  of 
forms  and,  in  fine,  evade  over-exact  principles.  Thus 
he  arrives  at  a perspective  de  sentiment,  which  is  the 
one  used  by  our  masters. 

Chinese  perspective  was  formulated  long  before 
that  of  the  Europeans  and  its  origins  are  therefore 
different.  It  was  evolved  in  an  age  when  the  method 
of  superimposing  different  registers  to  indicate  differ- 
ent planes  was  still  being  practiced  in  bas-reliefs. 
The  succession  of  planes,  one  above  the  other,  when 
codified,  led  to  a system  that  was  totally  different 
from  our  monocular  perspective.  It  resulted  in  a 
perspective  as  seen  from  a height.  No  account  is 
taken  of  the  habitual  height  of  the  eye  in  relation  to 
the  picture.  The  line  of  the  horizon  is  placed  very 
high,  parallel  lines,  instead  of  joining  at  the  horizon, 
remain  parallel,  and  the  different  planes  range  one 
above  the  other  in  such  a way  that  the  glance  em- 
braces a vast  space.  Under  these  conditions,  the 
picture  becomes  either  high  and  narrow  — a hanging 
picture  — to  show  the  successive  planes,  or  broad  in 
the  form  of  a scroll,  unrolling  to  reveal  an  endless 


CHINESE  PAINTERS 


30 

panorama.  These  are  the  two  forms  best  known 
under  their  Japanese  names  of  kakemono  and 
makimono.^ 

But  the  Chinese  painter  must  attenuate  the  forms 
where  they  are  parallel,  give  a natural  appearance  to 
their  position  on  different  levels  and  consider  the 
degree  of  their  reduction  demanded  - by  the  various 
planes.  Even  he  must  compromise  with  binocular 
vision  and  arrive  at  a perspective  de  sentiment  which, 
like  our  own,  while  scientifically  false,  is  artistically 
true.  To  this  linear  perspective  is  added  moreover 
an  atmospheric  perspective. 

Having  elected  from  a very  early  time  to  paint 
in  monochrome,  Chinese  painters  were  led  by  the 
nature  of  this  medium  to  seek  to  express  atmospheric 
perspective  by  means  of  tone  values  and  harmony 
of  shading  instead  of  by  color.  Thus  they  were 
familiar  with  chiaroscuro  before  the  European  painters. 
Wang  Wei  established  the  principles  of  atmospheric 
perspective  in  the  eighth  century.  He  explains  how 
tints  are  graded,  how  the  increasing  thickness  of  layers 
of  air  deprives  distant  objects  of  their  true  coloring, 
substituting  a bluish  "tinge,  and  how  forms  become 
indistinct  in  proportion  as  their  distance  from  the 
observer  increases.  His  testimony  in  this  respect  is 
similar  to  that  of  Leonardo  da  Vinci  in  his  “Treatise 
•on  Painting.” 

^ The  Chinese  terms  are  Li  Chou  for  a vertical  painting  and 
Heng  P'i  for  a horizontal  painting.  — Translator. 


PLATE  III.  KWANYIN.  EIGHTH  TO  TENTH  CENTURIES 
Painting  brought  from  Tun-huang  by  the  Pelliot  Expedition.  ‘The  Louvre, 

Paris. 


III.  DIVISION  OF  SUBJECTS 


The  Chinese  divide  the  subjects  of  painting  into 
four  principal  classes,  as  follows: 

Landscape. 

Man  and  Objects. 

Flowers  and  Birds. 

Plants  and  Insects. 

Nowhere  do  we  see  a predominant  place  assigned 
to  the  drawing  or  painting  of  the  human  figure.  This 
alone  is  sufficient  to  mark  the  wide  difference  between 
Chinese  and  European  painting. 

The  exact  name  for  Landscape  is  translated  by  the 
words  mountain  and  water  picture.  They  recall  the 
ancient  conception  of  Creation  on  which  the  Oriental 
system  of  the  world  is  founded.  The  mountain 
exemplifies  the  teeming  life  of  the  earth.  It  is 
threaded  by  veins  wherein  waters  continuously  flow. 
Cascades,  brooks  and  torrents  are  the  outward  evi- 
dence of  this  inner  travail.  By  its  own  superabun- 
dance of  life,  it  brings  forth  clouds  and  arrays  itself  in 
mists,  thus  being  a manifestation  of  the  two  principles 
which  rule  the  life  of  the  universe. 

The  second  class,  Man  and  Objects,  must  be  under- 
stood principally  as  concerning  man,  his  works,  his 

33 


34  CHINESE  PAINTERS 

belongings,  and,  in  a general  sense,  all  things  created 
by  the  hand  of  man,  in  combination  with  landscape. 
This  was  the  convention  in  early  times  when  the  first 
painters  whose  artistic  purpose  can  be  formulated 
with  certainty,  portrayed  the  history  of  the  legendary 
beings  of  Taoism,  — the  genii  and  fairies  dwelling 
amidst  an  imaginary  Nature.  The  records  tell  us,  to 
be  sure,  that  the  early  masters  painted  portraits,  but 
it  was  at  a later  period  that  Man  and  Objects  com- 
posed a class  distinct  from  Landscape,  a period  re- 
sponsible for  those  ancestral  portraits  painted  after 
death,  which  are  almost  always  attributable  to  ordi- 
nary artisans.  Earlier  they  endeavored  to  apply  to 
figure  painting  the  methods,  technique  and  laws  es- 
tablished for  an  ensemble  in  which  the  thought  of 
nature  predominated.  Special  rules  bearing  on  this 
subject  are  sometimes  found  of  a very  early  date  but 
there  is  no  indication  that  they  were  collected  into  a 
definite  system  until  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury. Up  to  the  present  time  our  only  knowledge  of 
their  content  is  through  a small  treatise  published  at 
the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

The  third  class.  Flowers  and  Birds,  deals  with  those 
paintings  wherein  the  Chinese  gave  rein  to  their  fancy 
for  painting  the  bird  in  conjunction  with  the  plant 
life  associated  with  its  home  and  habits.  The  bird 
is  treated  with  a full  understanding  of  its  life,  and 
flowers  are  studied  with  such  a comprehension  of 
their  essential  structure  that  a botanist  can  readily 


PLATE  IV.  PALACE  OF  KIU  CHENG-KUNG  BY  LI  CHAO-TAO 
T’ang  Period.  Collection  of  V.  Goloubew. 


TECHNIQUE 


37 


detect  the  characteristics  typical  of  a species,  despite 
the  simplifications  which  an  artist  always  imposes  on 
the  complexity  of  forms. 

This  general  class  is  subdivided.  The  epidendrum, 
the  iris,  the  orchis  and  the  chrysanthemum  be- 
came special  studies  each  of  which  had  its  own 
masters,  both  from  the  standpoint  of  painting  itself, 
and  of  the  application  of  the  aesthetic  rules  which 
govern  this  art.  The  bamboo  and  the  plum  tree  are 
also  allied  to  this  class.  Under  the  influence  of  philo- 
sophic and  symbolic  ideas  they  furnished  a special 
category  of  subjects  to  the  imagination  of  the  painter 
and  form  a division  apart  which  has  its  own  laws  and 
methods,  regarding  which  the  Chinese  treatises  on 
Aesthetics  inform  us  fully. 

Finally,  the  fourth  class.  Plants  and  Insects^  is  based 
upon  the  same  conception  as  that  of  Flowers  and  Birds. 
The  insect  is  represented  with  the  plant  which  is  his 
habitat  when  in  the  stage  of  caterpillar  and  larva,  or 
flying  above  the  flowers  and  plants  upon  which  he  sub- 
sists on  reaching  the  stage  of  butterfly  and  insect. 
Certain  books  add  to  this  fourth  class  a subdivision 
comprising  fishes. 

Lastly  we  must  note  that  in  the  Far  East,  as  in 
Europe,  there  is  a special  class  to  be  taken  into  con- 
sideration, Religious  paintings.  In  China,  this  refers 
almost  exclusively  to  Buddhist  paintings. 


IV.  INSPIRATION 


The  aesthetic  conceptions  of  the  Far  East  have 
been  deeply  influenced  by  a special  philosophy 
of  nature.  The  Chinese  consider  the  relation  of 
the  two  principles,  male  and  female,  the  yang  and  the 
yin,  as  the  source  of  the  universe.  Detached  from 
the  primordial  unity,  they  give  birth  to  the  forms  of 
this  world  by  ever  varying  degrees  of  combination. 
Heaven  corresponds  to  the  male  principle,  earth  to 
the  female  principle.  Everything  upon  the  earth, 
beings,  plants,  animals  or  man  is  formed  by  the  min- 
gling of  yang  and  yin.  While  the  mountain,  enveloped 
in  mists,  recalls  the  union  of  these  two  principles,  the 
legend  of  forces  thus  revealed  by  no  means  pauses 
here.  Fabulous  or  real,  the  animals  and  plants  ha- 
bitually seen  in  Chinese  paintings  express  a like 
conception. 

The  dragon  is  the  ancestor  of  everything  that  bears 
feathers  or  scales.  He  represents  the  element  of 
water,  the  waters  of  the  earth,  the  mists  of  the  air, 
the  heavenly  principle.  He  is  seen  breaking  through 
the  clouds  like  some  monstrous  apparition,  unveiling 
for  an  instant  the  greatness  of  a mystery  barely  dis- 
cerned. The  tiger  is  the  symbol  of  the  earthly  prin- 

38 


/- 4^  it  4 S ^ ^ « 
fa  ^ M 'f^  A ^ -g  ' 


PLATE  V.  PORTRAIT  OF  LU  TUNG-PING  BY  T’ENG  CH’ANG-YU 
T’ang  Period.  Collection  of  August  Jaccaci.  Lent  to  the  Metropolitan 

Museum,  New  York. 


TECHNIQUE 


41 


ciple,  a personification  of  quadrupeds  as  distinct  from 
birds  and  reptiles.  His  ferocious  form  lurks  in  the 
tempest.  Defying  the  hurricane  which  bends  the 
bamboos  and  uproots  trees,  he  challenges  the  furies 
of  nature  that  are  hostile  to  the  expression  of  the  uni- 
versal soul.  The  bamboo  is  the  symbol  of  wisdom, 
the  pine  is  the  emblem  of  will-power  and  life.  The 
plum  tree  in  flower  is  a harmonious  combination  of 
the  two  principles.  It  symbolizes  virginal  purity. 

Thus  is  built  up  a complete  system  of  allusions 
similar  to  the  allegories  of  our  own  classics  but 
superior  in  that  they  never  degenerate  into  frozen 
symbols,  but  on  the  contrary  keep  in  close  touch  with 
nature,  investing  her  with  a vibrant  life,  in  which 
human  consciousness  vanishes  making  way  for  the 
dawning  consciousness  of  infinitude. 

Buddhism  goes  still  further.  It  does  not  even  believe 
in  the  reality  of  the  world.  In  this  belief,  forms  are 
but  transitory,  the  universe  an  illusion  forever  flowing 
into  an  unending  future.  Outside  of  the  supreme 
repose,  in  the  six  worlds  of  desire,^  the  things  that  are 
susceptible  to  pain  and  death  pursue  their  evolution. 
Souls  travel  this  closed  cycle  under  the  most  di- 
verse forms,  from  hell  to  the  gods,  advancing  or  re- 
treating, in  accordance  with  the  good  deeds  or  errors 

^ These  are:  the  worlds  of  animals,  of  man,  of  gods  or  devaSy 
of  giants  or  asuraSy  of  pretas  or  wandering  spirits,  and  of  hells. 
Freedom  from  perpetual  transmigration  in  these  six  worlds  is 
attained  only  through  the  extinction  of  desire. 


42 


CHINESE  PAINTERS 


committed  in  previous  existences.  A stone,  a plant, 
an  insect,  a demon,  or  a god  are  only  illusory  forms, 
each  encompassing  an  identical  soul  on  its  way  to 
deliverance,  as  it  is  caught  at  different  stages  of  its 
long  calvary  and  imprisoned  through  original  sin  and 
the  instinctive  desire  for  life.  Whence  we  see  em_erg- 
ing  a new  feeling  of  charity  which  embraces  all  beings. 
Their  moral  character  is  felt  to  be  the  same  as  that 
of  man,  their  goal  is  the  same,  and  in  the  vast  world 
of  illusion  each  seeks  to  fulfill  the  same  destiny. 

Behind  the  changes  of  the  universe  the  Buddhist 
perceives  the  primal  substance  that  pervades  all  crea- 
tion. There  results  from  this  an  intimacy  with  things 
which  exists  in  no  other  creed.  From  inert  matter  to 
the  most  highly  organized  being,  all  creation  is  thus 
endowed  with  a sense  of  kinship  that  is  destined  to 
make  a tender  and  stirring  appeal  in  the  artist’s  inter- 
pretation of  nature. 


PART  TWO 


THE  EVOLUTION  OF 
CHINESE  PAINTING 


43 


I.  ORIGINS 


The  origins  of  painting  in  China  are  mingled  with 
the  origins  of  writing.  Written  characters  are, 
in  fact,  derived  from  pictography  or  picture 
writing,  those  in  use  at  the  present  time  being  only 
developed  and  conventionalized  forms  of  primitive 
drawings.  The  early  books  and  dictionaries  give 
us  definite  information  regarding  this  evolution.  But 
while  history  bears  witness  to  this  ancient  connection, 
we  do  not  come  into  contact  with  actual  evidence 
until  the  third  century  of  our  era,  through  the  bas- 
reliefs  of  the  Han  dynasty,  and  in  the  fourth  cen- 
tury through  the  paintings  of  Ku  K’ai-chih.  Here 
we  find  by  no  means  the  origin  of  an  evolution  but, 
on  the  contrary,  the  last  traces  of  an  expiring  tradi- 
tion. 


45 


II.  BEFORE  THE  INTERVENTION  OF 
BUDDHISM 


The  bas-reliefs  of  the  Han  dynasty  are  almost 
all  comprised  in  the  sculptured  stone  slabs  em- 
bellishing mortuary  chambers  and  of  these  the 
artistic  merit  is  most  unequal.^  Their  technique  is 
primitive.  It  consists  in  making  the  contours  of 
figures  by  cutting  aWay  the  stone  in  grooves  with 
softened  angles,  leaving  the  figure  in  silhouette.  En- 
graved lines  complete  the  drawing. 

The  subjects  are  sometimes  mythical  and  some- 
times legendary.  There  are  representations  of  divini- 
ties, fabulous  animals,  scenes  of  war  and  of  the  chase 
and  processions  of  people  bearing  tribute.  At  times 
the  great  compositions  display  imposing  spectacles,  a 
luxurious  and  refined  array.  Now  and  then  at- 
tempts at  pictorial  perspective  are  Joined  to  some 
unrelated  scene. 

All  this  is  in  direct  conflict  with  the  technique  of 
bas-reliefs  and  leads  to  the  surmise  that  the  models 

^ These  bas-reliefs  have  been  studied  by  M.  Chavannes  in 
“La  sculpture  sur  plerre  en  Chine  au  temps  des  deux  dynasties 
Han,”  Paris,  1893;  also  in  “Mission  archeologlque  en  Chine,” 
Paris,  1910.  Rubbings  taken  from  the  sculptured  slabs  are  re- 
produced here  in  full. 


46 


PLATE  VI.  PAINTING  BY  AN  UNKNOWN  ARTIST 
T’ang  Period.  Collection  of  R.  Petrucci. 


EVOLUTION  OF  CHINESE  PAINTING  49 

were  drawn  by  painters  and  copied  with  more  or  less 
skill  by  makers  of  funeral  monuments. 

This  impression  is  confirmed  if  certain  carved  slabs 
are  compared  with  a painting  by  Ku  K’ai-chih,  of 
which  we  can  judge  by  means  of  a copy  made  in  the 
Sung  period.^  One  of  the  scenes  of  this  long  scroll 
leaves  no  possible  misapprehension  as  to  the  pictorial 
origin  of  the  Han  bas-reliefs.  Its  subject,  a river 
god  on  a chariot  drawn  by  dragons,  is  similar  in 
composition  to  the  models  used  by  the  artisans  of  the 
third  century. 

We  have,  however,  better  testimony  than  a copy 
made  at  a later  period.  The  British  Museum,  in 
London,  is  the  owner  of  a painting  attributed  to 
Ku  K’ai-chih.  The  reasons  impelling  us  to  be- 
lieve in  its  authenticity  are  weighty,  almost  indis- 
putable.2  * We  therefore  accept  it  here  and  will 
endeavor  to  define  the  work  of  one  of  the  greatest 
painters  of  China  in  the  fourth  and  the  beginning  of 
the  fifth  century. 

^ This  painting  formed  part  of  the  collection  of  the  ex-viceroy 
Tuan  Fang,  killed  in  1911,  during  the  revolution.  It  was  pub- 
lished in  1911  by  the  Japanese  archeologist,  Mr.  Taki. 

^ These  reasons  are  set  forth^in  a work  which  Mr.  Laurence 
Binyon  is  preparing,  to  accompany  a reproduction  engraved  by 
Japanese  artists  for  the  British  Museum. 

* The  preceding  footnote  refers  to  a work  published  in  1913 
by  the  Trustees  of  the  British  Museum,  containing  a reproduc- 
tion of  the  painting  in  its  entirety  and  giving  a full  description. 
— Translator. 


50 


CHINESE  PAINTERS 


The  painted  scenes  are  inspired  by  a work  of  the 
third  century  containing  admonitions  addressed  to  the 
ladies  of  the  imperial  palace.  The  striking  charac- 
teristics of  these  compositions  are  the  lightness  and 
delicacy  of  style,  the  poetry  of  the  attitudes  and  the 
supreme  elegance  of  the  forms.  Heavy  black  tresses 
frame  the  ivory  faces  with  refined  and  subtle  charm. 
The  voluptuous  caprice  of  garments  in  long  floating 
folds,  the  extreme  perfection  of  the  figures  and  the 
grace  of  gestures  make  this  painting  a thing  of  unique 
beauty.  Only  through  the  cultivation  of  centuries 
could  such  spiritual  insight  be  attained. 

If  the  copy  from  the  collection  of  Tuan  Fang  re- 
calls the  bas-reliefs  of  the  Han  period,  the  painting 
in  the  British  Museum  is  related  to  the  bas-reliefs  of 
Long-men,  which  date  from  the  seventh  century  and 
of  which  M.  Chavannes  has  published  photographs. 
Therefore  we  may  say  that  the  style  of  Ku  K’ai-chih 
exemplifies  the  distinctive  features  of  Chinese  paint- 
ing at  a period  extending  from  the  third  to  the  seventh 
centuries.^ 

It  should  also  be  noted  that  toward  the  end  of  the 
fifth  or  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  century,  the  painter 

^ A copy  of  an  engraving  on  stone  of  the  year  1095,  representing 
“Confucius  sitting  amidst  his  disciples”  and  another  representing 
“Confucius  walking,  followed  by  one  of  his  disciples,”  dated  1 1 18, 
have  been  published  by  M.  de  Chavannes  (“Mission  archeolo- 
gique  en  Chine,”  Nos.  86g  and  871).  The  latter  is  considered  as 
having  been  undoubtedly  executed  after  a painting  by  Ku  K’ai- 
chih. 


PLATE  VII.  GEESE 
Sung  Period.  British  Museum,  London. 


EVOLUTION  OF  CHINESE  PAINTING  53 

and  critic  Hsieh  Ho  formulated  the  Six  Canons  ^ upon 
which  the  far-eastern  code  of  Aesthetics  is  founded. 
These  Canons  introduce  philosophical  conceptions  and 
technical  knowledge  which  also  presuppose  long  cul- 
tivation, for  it  is  only  after  rules  have  been  brought 
to  reality  in  a work  of  art  that  they  are  formulated 
into  a code.  Therefore  when  Buddhism  appeared 
in  China  it  found  there  a native  art  whose  value 
was  proved  beyond  question  by  a long  succession  of 
masterpieces.  After  having  exhausted  every  mani- 
festation of  strength  and  vigor,  this  art  had  arrived 
at  expressions  of  extreme  refinement  and  profound  and 
appealing  charm,  closely  verging  on  the  disquieting 
dreams  of  decadence. 

^ Interpretations  of  the  Six  Canons  by  five  authorities  are 
accessible  in  a very  convenient  form  for  comparison  in  Mr. 
Laurence  Binyon’s  “Flight  of  the  Dragon,”  p.  12.  — Translator. 


III.  THE  INTERVENTION  OF 
BUDDHISM 


CHINESE  books  state  that  between  the  fourth 
and  the  eighth  centuries  “the  art  of  painting 
man  and  things  underwent  a vital  change. “ 
By  this  they  alluded  to  the  intervention  of  Buddhist 
art,  which  made  its  appearance  in  China  toward  the 
fifth  century  in  the  form  of  the  Graeco- Indian  art  of 
Gandhara,  already  modified  by  its  transit  across 
Eastern  Turkestan.  This  by  no  means  indicates  that 
purely  Indian  origins  might  not  be  found  for  it.  At 
Sanchi,  as  well  as  in  Central  India  and  at  Ajanta 
such  characteristics  are  preserved.  But  the  Greek 
dynasties  which  had  settled  in  northwestern  India  in 
the  train  of  Alexander,  had  carried  with  them  the 
canons  of  Hellenistic  art.  The  technique  and  methods 
of  this  art  were  placed  at  the  service  of  the  new  re- 
ligion. They  gave  to  Buddhist  art  — which  was 
just  beginning  to  appear  in  the  Gandharian  provinces 
— its  outward  form,  its  type  of  figures,  its  range  of 
personages  and  the  greater  part  of  its  ornamentation.^ 

^ See  Foucher,  “L’Art  greco-bouddique  du  Gandhara.”  Paris, 
Leroux. 


54 


EVOLUTION  OF  CHINESE  PAINTING  55 

Buddhism  found  the  expiring  Hellenistic  formula 
which  had  been  swept  beyond  its  borders,  ready  at  hand 
at  the  very  moment  the  new  religion  was  gathering  it- 
self together  for  that  prodigious  journey  which,  tra- 
versing the  entire  Far  East,  was  to  lead  it  to  the  shores 
of  the  Pacific.  Once  outside  of  India,  it  came  into 
contact  with  Sassanian  Persia  and  Bactria.  With 
Hellenistic  influences  were  mingled  confused  elements 
springing  from  the  scattered  civilizations  which  had 
reigned  over  the  Near  East.  Thence  it  spread  to  the 
byways  of  Eastern  Turkestan. 

We  know  today,  thanks  to  excavations  of  the  Ger- 
man expeditions  of  Griinwedel  and  von  Lecoq,  the 
two  English  expeditions  of  Sir  Aurel  Stein  and  the 
French  expedition  of  M.  Pelliot,  that  in  that  long 
chain  of  oases  filled  with  busy  cities,  Buddhist  art 
was  gradually  formed  into  the  likeness  under  which 
it  was  to  appear  as  a finished  product  in  the  Far 
East.  Here  it  developed  magnificently.  The  enormous 
frescoes  of  Murtuq  display  imposing  arrangements 
of  those  figures  of  Buddhas  and  Bodhisatvas  which 
were  to  remain  unchanged  in  the  plastic  formulas  of 
China  and  Japan.  Meanwhile  conflicting  influences 
continued  to  be  felt.  Sometimes  the  Indian  types 
prevailed,  as  at  Khotan,  at  others  there  were  Sem- 
itic types  and  elements  originating  in  Asia  Minor, 
such  as  were  found  at  Miran,  and  at  length,  as  at 
Tun-huang,  types  that  were  almost  entirely  Chinese 
appeared. 


56  CHINESE  PAINTERS 

The  paintings  brought  from  Tun-huang  by  the 
Stein  and  Pelliot  expeditions  enable  us  to  realize  the 
nature  of  the  characteristics  which  contact  with 
China  imposed  upon  Buddhist  art.  It  had  no 
choice  but  to  combine  with  the  tendencies  revealed  in 
the  painting  of  Ku  K’ai-chih.  The  painter  trained  in 
the  school  of  Hellenistic  technique  drew  with  the  brush. 
He  delighted  in  the  rhythmic  movement  of  the  line 
and  the  display  of  a transcendent  harmony  and  ele- 
gance of  proportion  such  as  are  seen  in  the  frescoes  of 
Eastern  Turkestan.  Perhaps  through  contact  with 
China  — herself  searching  for  new  expressions  — but 
probably  through  a combination  of  the  two  influences, 
Buddhist  painting,  at  the  opening  of  the  T’ang 
dynasty,  gives  us  heavier  types  in  which  compact  and 
powerful  figures  take  on  a new  character. 

From  then  on  we  perceive  the  nature  of  the 
great  change  to  which  the  early  books  refer.  Chinese 
painting  had  already  known  the  genii  and  fairies  of 
Taoism,  the  Rishi  or  wizards  living  in  mountain  soli- 
tudes, the  Immortals  dwelling  in  distant  isles  beyond 
the  sea.  It  now  knew  gods  wrapped  in  the  ecstatic 
contemplation  of  Nirvana,  with  smiling  mouth  and 
half-closed  eyes,  revealing  mystic  symbols  in  a broad 
and  apostolic  gesture.  It  had  more  life-like  figures, 
attendants,  benign  and  malignant,  terrifying  demons. 
Before  these  impassive  gods,  in  a fervor  of  devotion 
it  bent  the  figures  of  donors,  men  and  women,  some- 
times veritable  portraits.  With  even  greater  breadth 


EVOLUTION  OF  CHINESE  PAINTING  57 

it  portrayed  the  disciples  of  Sakyamuni,  those  ancho- 
rites and  hermits  who  under  the  name  of  Lohan  ^ have 
entered  into  Chinese  Buddhist  legend.  Indian  priests 
with  harsh,  strongly  marked  features  and  wrinkled 
faces,  preachers  of  a foreign  race,  disfigured  by  scourg- 
ing or  else  the  calm  full  visage  of  the  ecstatic  in 
contemplation,  — such  are  the  types  that  appeared. 
Chinese  painters  took  up  the  new  subjects  and  treated 
them  with  a freedom,  an  ease,  and  a vitality  which 
at  once  added  an  admirable  chapter  to  the  history  of 
art. 

^ Indian  Arhat;  Japanese  Rakan.  — Translator 


IV.  THE  TANG  PERIOD -SEVENTH  TO 
TENTH  CENTL'RIES 

The  Tang  dynasty*  was  the  really  vital  p>eriod  of 
Chinese  Buddhism,  .\mong  the  painters  who 
gave  it  its  highest  expression  Wu  Tao-tzu  holds 
first  place.  His  memoiy  dwells  in  history*  as  that  of 
one  of  the  greatest  masters  in  China  and  legend  has 
still  further  enhanced  the  might  of  his  genius.  It  is 
highly  probable  that  his  work  is  entirely  destroj^ed, 
but  by  the  aid  of  copies,  incised  stones  and  wood 
engravings  of  the  twelfth  centur\%  an  idea  of  the 
I>ainter’s  conception  can  be  formed.  He  seems  to 
have  been  the  creator  of  a Chinese  type  of  Kwanyin,  the 
Buddhist  incarnation  of  merej’  and  charity.  Drap>er\' 
covers  the  high  drawn  hair.  She  is  attired  in  the  har- 
monious folds  of  a plain  and  ample  garment  and  ex- 
presses supreme  authority,  the  sublimhy'  of  divine  love. 

If  to  these  fragments  of  an  immense  plastic  pro- 
duction is  added  the  analysis  furnished  by  the  written 
records,  we  can  define  with  some  degree  of  certitude 
the  place  occupied  by  Wu  Tao-tzu  in  the  histoiy^  of 
Chinese  painting.  The  books  state  that  the  lines 
from  his  brush  fairly  vibrated;  all  united  in  marvel- 
ling at  the  spirituaihrv'  emanating  from  forms  thus 

>8 


PLATE  VIII.  WHITE  EAGLE.  SUNG  PERIOD 
Collection  of  R.  Petrucci. 


EVOLUTION  OF  CHINESE  PAINTING  6l 

defined.  He  adhered  almost  exclusively  to  the  use 
of  powerful  ink-lines  and  denied  himself  the  use  of  any 
color,  whether  scattered  or  prominent,  which  would 
have  robbed  his  painting  of  the  austerity  which  was 
the  source  of  its  surpassing  feeling.  But  in  order  to 
appreciate  the  full  value  of  the  new  ideas  introduced 
by  Wu  into  Chinese  painting,  it  is  necessary  to  under- 
stand the  exact  nature  of  the  technique  that  was  in 
practice  up  to  the  seventh  and  eighth  centuries,  at  the 
opening  of  the  T’ang  dynasty. 

At  that  time  there  prevailed  the  analytic,  pains- 
taking, detailed  and  very  considered  drawing  that 
is  common  to  all  periods  preceding  great  construc- 
tive work.  This  technique  admitted  the  use  of  two 
fundamental  methods:  one  called  double  contour,  the 
other  contour  or  single  contour.  The  method  of  double 
contour  was  applied  chiefly  to  the  drawing  of  plant 
life  in  landscape.  It  consisted  in  outlining  leaves  or 
branches  by  means  of  two  lines  of  ink  placed  in  ap- 
position. The  space  thus  enclosed  was  filled  with 
color.  Any  peculiarities  of  formation,  knots  in  wood 
and  veins  in  leaves  were  .added  subsequently.  The 
name  of  single  contour  was  applied  to  drawings  wherein  * 
a single  ink  line  outlined  the  object,  the  space 
enclosed  being  then  filled  with  color. 

If  the  application  of  these  analytic  methods  was 
sometimes  carried  to  the  extreme  of  delicacy  it  never 
became  labored.  Throughout  its  entire  evolution 
the  art  of  the  T’ang  period  is  characterized  by  a 


62 


CHINESE  PAINTERS 


sense  of  the  magnificent.  Once  the  study  of  forms  was 
exhausted,  this  type  of  work  was  bound  to  be  super- 
ceded.  Wu  Tao-tzu  profited  by  the  work  of  his  pred- 
ecessors. Combining  in  a single  stroke  of  the  brush, 
vigor  and  an  eclectic  character  of  line,  with  values 
and  fluidity  of  tone,  he  brought  to  a supreme  unity 
the  two  great  principles  by  which  things  are  made 
manifest  in  all  the  magic  of  their  essential  structure. 
But  it  must  be  understood  that  this  patient  investiga- 
tion of  forms  was  not  limited  to  preparing  the  way 
for  a single  master.  The  logical  outcome  was  an  in- 
dependent movement  to  which  the  origin  of  modern 
Chinese  painting  can  be  traced. 

‘‘Painting  has  two  branches,”  the  books  say,  “that 
of  the  North  and  that  of  the  South;  the  separation 
occurred  in  the  T’ang  period.”  These  terms  Northern 
School  and  Southern  School  must  not  be  taken  literally. 
They  serve  merely  to  characterize  styles  which,  in  the 
eighth  century,  liberated  themselves  from  methods 
demanding  such  close  study  and  exact  definition  of 
forms.  The  style  of  the  Northern  School  is  strong, 
vehement  and  bold;  the  style  of  the  Southern  School 
is  melancholy  and  dreamy.  The  ideal  of  Northern 
China,  Impregnated  with  barbarian  elements,  is  brought 
into  contrast  with  that  of  Southern  China,  heir  to  an  al- 
ready ancient  civilization,  and  under  the  spell  of  Taoist 
legends  and  the  bewildered  dreams  of  its  philosophers.^ 

^ These  divisions  of  Northern  and  Southern  Schools  do  not 
correspond,  as  might  be  imagined,  to  geographical  limitations. 


PLATE  IX.  HORSEMAN  FOLLOWED  BY  TWO  ATTENDANTS 
Sung  Period.  Collection  of  A.  Stoclet. 


EVOLUTION  OF  CHINESE  PAINTING  65 

Li  Ssu-hsun  and  his  son  Li  Chao-tao  (eighth  cen- 
tury) are  considered  to  be  the  founders  of  the  North- 
ern School.  The  paintings  attributed  to  them  show 
the  character  which  the  Northern  style  preserved  up 
to  the  Ming  period  and  which  was  to  be  emphasized 
to  the  point  of  brutality  at  the  hands  of  certain 
masters  in  the  Yiian  period.  At  the  outset,  in  its 
brilliancy  and  precision,  the  Northern  style  held  to  a 
certain  refinement  of  line;  later  the  line  is  drawn 
with  a firm  and  powerful  brush  and  strong  colors  are 
applied  almost  pure. 

In  direct  contrast  the  Southern  style  is  made  up  of 
half-tints,  with  a feeling  of  reserve  and  intentional 
restraint,  which  gives  it,  with  equal  power,  at  times  a 
more  appealing  charm.  The  lines  are  pliant,  im- 
mersed in  shading,  color  is  suggested  in  a subtle 
fashion  and,  in  contrast  to  the  almost  brutal  emphasis 
of  the  North,  it  finds  expression  in  chiaroscuro  and 
concealed  harmonies. 

The  foundation  of  the  Southern  School  is  attributed 
to  a great  landscape  painter  of  the  eighth  century, 
Wang  Wei.  Nothing  could  better  determine  his  ten- 
dencies than  monochrome  ^ painting  in  Chinese  ink.  Ac- 

Painters  of  the  South  worked  in  the  style  of  the  North  and 
painters  of  the  North  likewise  used  the  Southern  style.  Moreover 
the  same  master  was  able  to  employ  one  or  the  other  according 
to  the  inspiration  of  the  moment.  These  works  were  produced 
for  a receptive  people  capable  of  understanding  both  styles. 

^ “Monochrome  is  a starved  and  lifeless  term  to  express  the 
marvellous  range  and  subtlety  of  tones  of  which  the  preparation 


66 


CHINESE  PAINTERS 


cording  to  the  records,  this  was  first  practiced  by  him. 
It  constitutes  what  in  China,  as  well  as  in  Japan,  is 
called  the  literary  man's  painting  and  is,  in  reality, 
quite  closely  related  to  calligraphy.  The  variety  of 
shadings  and  relative  colors  of  objects  depend  entirely 
upon  the  tones  of  ink  washes.  Wang  Wei  seems  to 
have  treated  monochrome  mainly  from  the  stand- 
point of  chiaroscuro,  in  his  search  for  an  atmospheric 
perspective  which  should  be  both  fluid  and  ethereal. 
It  appears  that  the  accentuation  of  lines  according  to 
rule  that  is  seen  later  on,  where  forms  are  synthetized 
— sometimes  to  an  excessive  degree  — was  only  a 
derivation  of  the  work  of  Wang  Wei  and  caused  by 
the  intrusion  of  calligraphic  virtuosity  into  the  domain 
of  painting. 

When  we  arrive  at  Wang  Wei,  landscape  is  treated 
as  a special  subject  and  with  its  own  resources.  It 
was  he  who  discovered  the  principles  which  govern 
the  fading  of  colors  and  forms  in  the  distance, 
and  who  formulated  the  laws  of  atmospheric  perspec- 
tive. Paintings  in  his  style  are  all  executed  in  a pre- 
dominating color  which  the  Chinese  call  luo-ts'ing,  a 
mineral  color  of  varying  shades  ranging  from  a mala- 
chite green  to  a lapis-lazuli  blue.  It  will  be  seen  why 
luo-ts'ing  gave  its  name  to  the  style  of  Wang 
Wei. 

By  means  of  bluish  tints  he  painted  the  distant 

of  black  soot  known  as  Chinese  ink  is  capable.”  Laurence  Bin- 
yon  in  “The  Flight  of  the  Dragon.”  — Translator. 


PLATE  X.  LANDSCAPE  IN  THE  STYLE  OF  HSIA  KUEI 
Sung  Period.  Collection  of  Martin  White. 


EVOLUTION  OF  CHINESE  PAINTING  69 

expanse  of  landscape.  Mountains  forming  screens  in 
the  backgrounds  and  masses  of  trees  lost  in  the  dis- 
tance, are  all  indicated  by  the  azure  tints  which  inter- 
vening layers  of  air  give  to  remote  objects.  But 
as  the  foreground  is  approached,  rightful  colors  be- 
gin to  prevail  and  the  azure  tints  are  subtly  graded, 
passing  into  a fresh  and  brilliant  green  amongst 
wooded  declivities,  and  into  the  natural  hue  in  the 
foliage  of  trees.  Often  heavy  mists,  spreading  at  the 
foot  of  high  mountains,  veil  the  outlines  and  still 
further  emphasize  the  feeling  of  limitless  space. ‘ 

But  when  a master  has  carried  his  study  of  the 
fading  of  colors  and  of  their  relative  values  thus  far, 
he  must  have  considered  not  only  the  element  of  color 
Itself,  but  also  the  collective  tones  which  color  is 
capable  of  expressing.  From  this  to  monochrome 
painting  in  Chinese  ink  is  but  a step;  historical  tes- 
timony shows  that  Wang  Wei  took  this  step.  By 
the  simple  opposition  of  black  and  white,  and  through 
tone  values  and  gradations  of  shades,  he  endeavored 
to  create  the  same  feeling  of  atmosphere  and  space 
which  he  had  been  able  to  express  with  luo-ts'ing.  No 
original  picture  remains  to  inform  us  to  what  extent 

^ I have  not  seen  nor  do  I know  of  any  paintings  which  can 
be  said  with  certainty  to  be  from  the  hand  of  Wang  Wei.  But 
from  the  records  as  well  as  from  works  directly  inspired  by  him, 
an  idea  of  his  style  and  technique  can  be  formed.  Ancient  paint- 
ings in  luo-ts'ing  are  found  in  Japan  as  well  as  in  China.  The 
British  Museum  of  London  has  a scroll  painted  by  Chao  Meng-fu, 
in  the  manner  of  Wang  Wei,  dated  1309. 


70 


CHINESE  PAINTERS 


he  succeeded,  but  by  means  of  monochrome  paintings 
of  the  Sung  period  which  owe  their  inspiration  to 
him,  the  importance  of  the  reform  accomplished,  and 
the  tendencies  manifested  in  those  lost  works  of  art 
may  be  divined. 

Another  master  whose  work  can  be  defined  with 
sufficient  accuracy  to  cite  as  an  illustration  of  a dif- 
ferent aspect  of  the  history  of  painting  during  the 
T’ang  period,  is  Han  Kan,  who  lived  in  the  middle 
of  the  eighth  century  and  who  is  celebrated  as  a 
painter  of  horses. 

The  sculptured  stones  of  the  Han  dynasty,  espe- 
cially the  admirable  bas-reliefs  of  the  tomb  of  Chao- 
ling,  representing  the  favorite  coursers  of  the  emperor 
T’ai-tsung,  show  the  manner  in  which  artists,  from  the 
third  to  the  seventh  centuries,  were  capable  of  study- 
ing and  delineating  the  postures  of  the  horse.  It 
is  therefore  not  surprising  to  find  a great  animal 
painter  in  the  eighth  century.  Beyond  question  he 
was  not  the  first.  The  written  records  have  preserved 
the  names  of  several  of  his  predecessors  and  while  the 
honor  of  having  been  the  great  founder  of  a school 
was  attributed  to  him,  it  is  possible  that  this  refers 
only  to  an  artistic  movement  bearing  his  name,  of 
which  he  was  not  the  sole  representative. 

But  the  work  of  Han  Kan  and  the  unknown 
artists  grouped  around  him,  proclaims  a powerful 
tradition,  a well  grounded  school  of  animal  painters 
which  had  attained  the  highest  eminence.  It  vvas 


EVOLUTION  OF  CHINESE  PAINTING  7I 

destined  to  exert  a strong  influence  upon  painters  of 
horses  in  the  Yiian  epoch  and  even  when,  later  on, 
this  great  tradition  is  seen  disappearing,  cloying  and 
insipid,  amidst  the  mannerisms  of  the  Ming  period,  it 
will  still  retain  suflicient  power  to  carry  thus  far  a 
reflection  of  the  vigor  and  vitality  attained  in  the 
great  periods. 

The  painting  of  Flowers  and  Birds,  and  Plants  and 
Insects  appears  to  have  been  already  established  at 
this  time.  The  flowers  and  plants  are  drawn  accord- 
ing to  the  methods  of  double  contour  and  single  contour, 
worked  over  and  brought  out  with  that  intensity  of 
analysis  to  which  allusion  has  been  made.  The  bird 
is  caught  in  its  most  subtle  movement,  the  insect 
studied  in  its  essential  structure. 

Thus  we  see  that  Chinese  painting  had  extended 
its  investigations  in  every  direction  and  had  solved  the 
problems  found  along  its  path.  It  had  absorbed  foreign 
influences,  altered  its  conception  of  the  divine  and 
found  a new  type  of  figure.  It  had  endowed  landscape 
painting  with  all  the  resources  of  atmospheric  perspec- 
tive and  had  established  the  two  essential  styles  of 
the  North  and  the  South.  The  painter  was  master  of 
the  visible;  his  thought  dominated  form  and  was  able 
to  express  itself  with  freedom. 


V.  THE  SUNG  PERIOD  — TENTH  TO 
THIRTEENTH  CENTURIES 


The  T’ang  period  had  been  the  golden  age  of 
Chinese  poetry.  It  had  witnessed  an  extraor- 
dinary outburst  of  religious  fervor,  and  the  over- 
whelming domination  of  Buddhism.  It  had,  moreover, 
triumphantly  re-established  the  unity  of  the  empire 
and  to  the  pride  of  intellectual  activity  it  could  add 
the  pride  of  might  and  dominion.  But  the  same  can- 
not be  said  for  the  Sung  period.  From  a political 
standpoint  its  history  is  one  of  cumulative  disaster. 
Ancient  China  retreated  by  degrees  before  the  thrusts 
of  the  barbarians,  until  the  great  thunderbolt  of  Genghis 
Khan’s  conquest,  reverberating  with  formidable  echoes 
throughout  all  Asia,  announced  the  approaching  down- 
fall of  culture  in  the  red  dawn  of  a new  era. 

The  Sung  culture,  totally  different  from  that  of  the 
T’ang  period,  was,  however,  swept  forward  to  its  cul- 
mination. It  would  seem  as  if,  under  the  menace  of 
the  barbarians,  the  mind  had  set  for  its  goal  the  de- 
velopment of  ideas  embryonic  in  earlier  work,  formu- 
lating them  in  haste  and  arresting  them  finally  in 
perfect  yet  sad  images,  in  which  the  heights  attained 
were  haunted  by  the  shadow  of  impending  ruin. 

72 


PLATE  XI.  LANDSCAPE  BY  MA  LIN 
Sung  Period.  Collection  of  R.  Petrucci. 


- , 


EVOLUTION  OF  CHINESE  PAINTING  75 

The  dynasty  opened  with  a classical  reaction  against 
new  ideas  and  witnessed  a return  to  Confucian  philoso- 
phy, with  its  conception  of  the  State.  But  centuries 
of  history  had  not  rolled  by  without  effect.  In  the 
tenth  and  eleventh  centuries  the  ancient  writings  were 
no  longer  understood  with  their  original  meaning.  A 
whole  series  of  philosophers,  of  whom  the  last  is  Chu 
Hsi  (thirteenth  century),  had  formulated  a composite 
doctrine  resulting  in  what  might  be  called  an  official 
philosophy,  which  has  dominated  to  the  present  day. 
Some  bold  spirits,  however,  opposed  this  reactionary 
codification,  struggling  in  vain  to  give  a positive  and 
firm  structure  to  the  doomed  empire.  Their  influence 
appears  to  have  been  considerable.  Just  as  the  old 
heterodox  philosophy  was  being  stifled  by  the  dry 
and  colorless  metaphysics  of  the  conservatives,  it 
was  awakened  to  new  life  by  the  painters,  who  gave 
it  a stirring  interpretation  in  their  work. 

The  period  of  technical  research  was  past.  At  first, 
with  care  and  patience,  forms  had  been  determined 
by  drawing.  Color  had  remained  a thing  apart,  re- 
garded as  a work  of  illumination  and  quite  distinct 
from  drawing.  Then  study  was  extended  still  further. 
Color  came  to  be  viewed  in  the  light  of  shades  and 
tones  and  became  one  of  the  means  for  the  expression 
of  form;  it  became  the  very  drawing  itself,  — that 
which  reveals  the  basic  structure. 

Wang  Wei  represents  the  moment  when  art,  eman- 
cipating itself  from  problems  already  solved,  had 


CHINESE  PAINTERS 


76 

conquered  every  medium  of  expression.  Such  is  the 
tradition  which  he  bequeathed  to  the  Sung  artists,  who 
were  destined  to  add  thereto  such  supreme  master- 
pieces. 

The  Sung  painters  were  haunted  by  the  old  philo- 
sophical beliefs  as  to  the  formation  of  the  universe. 
Beyond  the  actual  surroundings  they  dimly  perceived 
a magic  world  made  up  of  perfect  forms.  Appearances 
were  but  the  visible  covering  of  the  two  great  princi- 
ples whose  combination  engendered  life.  They  believed 
that,  in  painting,  they  did  more  than  to  reproduce  the 
external  form  of  things.  They  labored  with  the  convic- 
tion that  they  were  wresting  the  soul  from  objects,  in 
order  to  transfer  it  to  the  painted  silk.  Thus  they 
created  something  new,  an  imaginary  world  more 
beautiful  than  the  real  world,  wherein  the  intimate 
relation  of  beings  and  things  was  disclosed,  — a 
world  pervaded  by  pure  spirit  and  one  which  was  re- 
vealed only  to  those  whose  thought  was  sufficiently 
enlightened,  and  whose  sympathies  were  sufficiently 
broad,  to  understand  and  to  be  stirred. 

The  painters  of  the  line  of  Wang  Wei  during  the 
Sung  period,  devoted  themselves  chiefly  to  the 
development  of  painting  in  monochrome.  They  pur- 
sued the  study  of  relations  of  tones  and  values  of 
shading  up  to  the  limit  of  extreme  delicacy,  and  if  they 
mingled  color  at  all  with  their  subtle  evocations,  it  was 
with  a feeling  of  unequalled  restraint.  They  dwelt 
for  the  most  part  in  intimacy  with  Nature.  Flee- 


PLATE  XII.  MONGOL  HORSEMAN  RETURNING  FROM  THE 

HUNT 

By  Chao  Meng-fu.  Yiian  Period.  Doucet  Collection. 


EVOLUTION  OF  CHINESE  PAINTING  79 

ing  from  the  cares  of  court  and  city,  they  retired 
into  mountain  solitudes,  meditating  for  long  periods 
before  taking  up  the  brush  to  paint.  Thus  they  por- 
trayed those  mountains  enveloped  in  mists,  wherein 
was  revealed  the  harmony  of  the  two  principles  which 
control  the  universe.  From  the  depths  of  valleys 
misty  vapors  arose  and  cedars  and  gigantic  pines 
reared  their  majestic  forms,  while,  on  the  threshold 
of  a thatched  cabin  upon  some  rocky  plateau,  a her- 
mit deep  in  meditation  contemplated  the  vast  expanse 
of  a landscape  of  august  grandeur. 

Sometimes,  turning  to  plant  forms,  they  painted 
the  bamboo  in  black  and  white.  A single  masterly 
stroke  sufficed  to  draw  the  cylindrical  stalk  from  one 
joint  to  another,  or  the  pointed  leaves  which  are  so 
quivering  with  life  that  we  seem  to  hear  the  plaintive 
voice  of  the  wind  “combed,”  as  the  Chinese  writings 
express  it,  “by  the  reeds.”  Or  again,  when  a flower 
was  the  subject,  they  suggested  it  wdth  a simplicity 
that  presupposes  a scientifically  exact  study  of  forms. 
It  was  by  no  means  the  splendid  image  which  they 
sought  to  grasp  but  the  soul  Itself;  at  one  time  the 
flower  barely  open  In  all  Its  enchanting  freshness,  at 
another  the  softened  petals  drooping  in  languid  fashion, 
revealing  a splendor  still  present  but  soon  to  fade; 
at  times  the  dew  moistening  the  leaves,  the  snow 
shrouding  them  with  its  purity,  or  the  slow  monotonous 
rain  beneath  which  they  drip,  motionless.  These 
paintings  are  always  instinct  with  deep  poetic  feeling. 


8o 


CHINESE  PAINTERS 


At  the  hands  of  the  Sung  painters  the  school 
of  landscape  and  monochrome  technique  attained  a 
level  which  will  never  be  exceeded.  The  masters  of 
this  period  are  numerous  and  are  frequently  repre- 
sented by  works  of  almost  certain  authenticity.  It 
seems  useless  to  assemble  here  names  which  will 
convey  no  meaning  to  the  European  reader.  It  will 
suffice  to  Illustrate  by  a few  great  figures  the  three 
centuries  of  history  during  which  Chinese  landscape 
painting  reached  its  culminating  point. 

Tung  Yiian  and  Chii  Jan  are  considered  by  the 
critics  as  having  founded  a special  school  in  the  great 
tradition  of  Wang  Wei.  Their  paintings  were  quiet 
in  coloring  and  were  executed  with  broad  strokes  in 
an  impressionist  style.  These  works  must  be  viewed 
from  a distance  to  see  their  apparent  violence  merge 
into  extreme  elegance.  They  furnish  a complete 
demonstration  of  the  laws  of  atmospheric  perspective, 
with  its  feeling  of  distance  and  infinite  space,  in 
which  forms  are  Immersed.  Here  we  find  evidence 
that  these  painters  were  the  first  to  attempt  the 
arrangement  of  lines  according  to  rule,  which  led 
ultimately  to  calligraphic  painting. 

Among  the  heads  of  schools  cited  in  the  Chinese 
writings  Ma  Yiian  and  Hsla  Kuel  of  the  Sung  dynasty 
must  be  placed  in  a class  by  themselves.  Both  of 
these  masters  lived  at  the  end  of  the  twelfth  and  the 
beginning  of  the  thirteenth  centuries.  Their  style 
can  be  described  with  accuracy  since  original  examples 


^IVOLUTION  OF  CHINESE  PAINTING  8l 

are  extant  — both  by  themselves  and  by  their  dis- 
ciples — in  which  their  characteristics  are  fully  re- 
vealed. 

Ma  Yiian  is  classed  with  the  Southern  School  by 
reason  of  his  restraint  in  the  use  of  color,  his  great- 
ness of  conception  and  his  technical  treatment  of 
forms.  But  he  brings  to  his  work  a virility  in  which  the 
influence  of  the  Northern  School  is  plainly  discerned. 
He  has  a broad  stroke  and  a masterful  manner 
which  place  his  works  in  the  front  rank  of  all  Chinese 
painting.  His  mountainous  backgrounds  rear  them- 
selves with  fierce  energy.  His  old  pines,  with  branches 
wreathed  in  vines,  would  suffice  alone  to  define  his 
style,  so  freel}^  do  they  express  the  force  of  plant  life 
and  the  proud  defiance  of  the  aged  tree.  He  loved 
the  mountain  solitudes  to  which  he  gave  a new 
imagery,  so  authoritative  and  so  perfect  that  it  served 
to  create  a school. 

The  influence  of  Ma  Yiian  was  felt  by  his  brother 
and  by  his  son,  Ma  Lin.  Although  the  death  of  the 
latter  occurred  under  the  Mongolian  dynasty,  he  was  an 
exponent  of  Sung  art.  The  fierce  energy  of  the  old 
master  gives  way  to  a somewhat  more  melancholy 
and  gentle  quality  in  his  son.  There  is  the  same  re- 
straint in  the  handling  of  the  brush,  the  same  reserve 
in  the  use  of  color,  but  the  landscape  stretches  out 
into  deep  and  dreamy  vistas  that  are  indescribably 
poetic.  The  melancholy  of  autumn,  the  sadness  of 
flights  of  birds  that  circle  in  the  evening  light,  the 


82 


CHINESE  PAINTERS 


feeling  of  seclusion  and  silence,  such  are  the  things 
in  which  this  poetic  spirit  finds  its  Joy,  true  heir  of 
the  master  mind  whose  genius  found  expression  in  the 
wild  aspects  of  nature. 

The  school  of  Ma  dominated  the  entire  subsequent 
period  and  his  influence  extended  as  far  as  Korea, 
where  traces  of  it  were  still  to  be  found  as  late  as  the 
fifteenth  century.  As  the  history  of  Korean  painting 
becomes  better  known,  we  shall  be  able  to  say  with 
more  accuracy  what  it  owes  to  other  Chinese  masters; 
but  in  so  far  as  those  mentioned  are  concerned,  their 
influence  appears  to  have  been  sufficiently  strong  to 
impress  a certain  type  on  fragmentary  works  from 
Korea  which  have  become  known  to  us  recently. 

We  are  far  from  being  as  well  informed  regard- 
ing Hsia  Kuei,  but  we  have  that  which  is  worth 
more  than  written  records,  a few  paintings  preserved 
in  Japanese  collections,  which  it  seems  legitimate  to 
attribute  to  him  without  reservation.  It  is  readily 
seen  why  his  name  is  always  linked  with  that  of  Ma 
Yiian.  His  work  shows  the  same  energy  and  power 
and  discloses  an  ideal  which  is  similar  to  that  of  his 
confrere.  He  seems  to  have  penetrated  even  further 
than  Ma  Yiian  along  the  path  of  daring  simplifi- 
cations, and  to  have  approached  at  times  the  calli- 
graphic style.  He  painted  both  landscape  and  figures 
and  was  skilled  in  obtaining  strange  effects,  as  if  of 
color,  through  his  use  of  monochrome. 

Another  painter  whose  name  dominates  the  history 


EVOLUTION  OF  CHINESE  PAINTING  83 

of  this  time  and  whose  work  serves  to  characterize  a 
special  aspect  is  Li  Lung-mien.  It  is  naturally  difficult 
to  prove  that  all  the  works  attributed  to  him  are 
authentic.  However,  collections  in  Japanese  temples 
or  privately  owned,  possess  paintings  which  passed  as 
his  at  a very  early  date  and  in  which  at  least  we 
can  recognize  his  style.  In  reviewing  the  centuries  of 
history,  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  work  of  Li 
Lung-mien  is  not  without  similarity,  in  certain  of  its 
elements,  to  the  paintings  of  Ku  K’ai-chih.  His  line 
is  delicate  and  flexible  and  he  draws  his  outlines  with 
the  same  subtlety,  the  same  grace  and  the  same  instinct 
for  harmonious  curves  and  an  extraordinary  rhythm. 

The  tradition  which  arose  in  a period  antedating 
the  T’ang  epoch  was  therefore  still  unbroken  in  the 
Sung  period,  and  I am  sure  that  proofs  of  this  will 
increase  in  number  as  our  information  becomes  more 
accurate.  New  evidence  furnished  by  the  paintings 
found  at  Tun-huang  and  certain  frescoes  at  Murtuq 
has  recently  shown  that  the  type  of  Buddhist  hermit 
— the  Lohan  meditating  in  solitude  — whose  inception 
had,  until  these  discoveries,  been  attributed  to  Li  Lung- 
mien,  in  reality  dated  much  further  back  and  originated 
in  the  Buddhist  art  of  Eastern  Turkestan,  perhaps  even 
in  India.  From  those  regions  are  derived  the  mag- 
nificent subjects  of  which  Li  Lung-mien  made  use  to 
express  meditation.  Sometimes  there  are  emaciated 
faces,  withered  bodies  with  protruding  tendons  that 
outline  deep  hollows,  and  again  rotund  and  peaceful 


CHINESE  PAINTERS 


84 

figures  meditating  in  tranquil  seclusion.  From  the 
written  records  as  well  as  in  his  works,  there  is  every 
evidence  that  he  was  one  of  those  who  revived  Buddhist 
painting.  No  matter  what  models  he  chose  to  follow, 
he  always  gave  them  a stress  and  a peculiar  distinction, 
while  from  the  standpoint  of  pure  art  he  had  the 
ability  to  portray  them  with  finished  elegance  and 
majestic  dignity. 

Li  Lung-mien  was  not  content  to  paint  Buddhist 
figures  only.  He  painted  landscape  also,  and  in  his 
youth  he  had  painted  horses.  A great  critic  of  the 
Sung  period  said  of  him  that  “his  soul  entered  into 
communion  with  all  things,  his  spirit  penetrated  the 
mysteries  and  the  secrets  of  nature. “ This  critic 
added  that  one  day  he  saw  Li  Lung-mien  painting  a 
Buddhist  divinity.  The  words  of  the  god  fairly  leapt 
from  the  lines;  it  seemed  as  if  the  brush  of  the  master 
summoned  them  one  by  one  into  being.  Like  all  the 
masters  of  his  time,  Li  Lung-mien  sought  to  free  the 
spirit  from  its  outward  semblance.  Beyond  the  ma- 
terial, he  perceived  the  immaterial  force  which  ani- 
mates the  world.  As  a landscape  painter  his  conception 
of  Nature  was  broad  and  majestic.  His  graceful  and 
harmonious  line  recalls  the  happiest  moments  in  the 
history  of  plastic  art,  and  he  challenges  comparison 
with  a facile  genius  like  Raphael.  But  he  includes  the 
whole  realm  of  nature  in  his  subjects,  and  in  his  work 
we  find  traces,  expressed  with  greater  breadth,  but 
with  quite  as  keen  an  insight,  of  an  ancient  and 


PLATE  XIII.  PIGEONS  BY  CH’IEN  HSUAN 
Yuan  Period.  Collection  of  R.  Petrucci. 


EVOLUTION  OF  CHINESE  PAINTING  87 

noble  art,  such  as  was  found  almost  extinct  in  the 
work  of  Ku  K’ai-chih. 

We  cannot  leave  the  Sung  painters  without  devoting 
some  attention  to  Mi  Fei  and  his  son.  The  two  Mi’s, 
indeed,  accomplished  a far-reaching  reform  in  Chinese 
technique;  they  enriched  painting  with  a new  imagery 
and  founded  a school  which,  like  that  of  Ma,  exerted 
an  influence  on  later  periods  and  was  strongly  felt  in 
Korea. 

In  addition  to  being  a great  painter.  Mi  Fei  was  a 
great  calligraphist.  This  is  apparent  however  little 
one  may  have  seen  of  work  in  his  style.  He  possesses 
in  the  highest  degree  what  the  Chinese  describe  as 
the  “handling  of  flowing  ink.”  He  used  the  tech- 
nique of  monochrome  almost  exclusively,  and  so 
closely  related  tone  values  to  the  line,  or  rather  to 
the  brush-stroke,  that  it  is  difficult  to  decide  whether 
he  paints  rather  than  draws,  or  draws  rather  Than 
paints.  Properly  speaking,  he  does  not  employ  the  line 
at  all  but  works  by  masses,  by  broad,  heavily  inked 
touches,  without  pausing  to  emphasize  the  deep  warm 
blacks  provided  by  Chinese  ink.  His  manner  recalls 
certain  drawings  by  Rembrandt,  also  produced  by 
strong  inking,  which  evoke  a strange  and  magical 
effect  of  light.  Such  was  the  spirit  in  which  Mi  Fei 
treated  landscape.  This  technique  marks  his  style 
and  gives  it  an  individuality  that  is  indisputable.  The 
vehemence  with  which  he  attacks  forms,  the  rapidity  of 
his  brush-stroke,  the  way  in  which  things  spring  from 


88 


CHINESE  PAINTERS 


such  energy,  call  to  mind  pictures  by  European  masters,, 
painted  in  full  color,  and  it  may  be  said  of  the  paint- 
ings of  Mi  Fei  that  they  are  fairly  colored  by  their 
tremendous  vitality,  if  the  quality  of  the  materials  he 
employed  permits  the  use  of  such  a term.  Therefore 
Mi  Fei  and  his  son  are  responsible  for  a new  technique, 
a strongly  individual  work,  and  the  creation  of  a style 
which  marks  the  highest  achievement  in  monochrome. 
The  trend  which  impelled  them  was,  however,  general. 
Carried  to  its  extreme  it  led  to  the  style  of  painting 
called  calligraphic,  of  which  there  has  been  occasion 
to  speak  several  times. 

Calligraphic  painting,  or  the  literary  style,  has  its 
origin  in  the  studies  of  Wang  Wei  when,  renouncing 
the  aid  of  colour,  he  strove  by  harmony  of  shading 
and  by  tone  values,  to  reproduce  the  vast  reaches  of 
space  and  all  the  shifting  subtlety  of  atmospheric  per- 
spective. The  exclusive  use  of  Chinese  ink  necessi- 
tated special  studies  since  thus  calligraphy  was  directly 
approached.  The  different  styles  of  writing  are  almost 
drawing  in  themselves.  Each  style  of  writing  has  its 
own  rules  for  dissecting  the  written  character  and 
making  the  stroke.  Now,  as  is  known,  the  Chinese 
painters  attached  supreme  importance  to  the  line  and 
to  the  brush-stroke.  This  was  due  in  part  to  their 
equipment  and  in  part  to  the  fact  that  the  amateurs 
of  art  were  prepared  by  their  classical  studies  to  ap- 
preciate the  strength  or  the  delicacy  of  a line  judged 
for  itself,  quite  independently  of  the  forms  represented^ 


EVOLUTION  OF  CHINESE  PAINTING  8^ 

We  must  also  bear  in  mind  that  all  of  the  Chinese 
painters  were  scholars,  belonging  to  the  class  of  the 
literati.'  Writers,  poets,  statesmen,  soldiers,  Buddhist 
or  Taoist  priests,  and  philosophers  have  all  furnished 
the  greatest  names  in  art.  Under  such  conditions 
the  technical  relationship  between  the  line  of  the 
painter  and  that  of  the  calligraphist  was  closer,  since 
painter  and  calligraphist  were  frequently  united  in  one 
and  the  same  person.  Thence  came  the  early  tendency 
to  use  monochrome  and  to  represent  forms  in  the 
abstract,  rendering  them  more  and  more  as  mere 
themes,  thus  reducing  the  subject  to  a few  simple 
calligraphic  strokes. 

It  is  difficult  for  a European  to  follow  the  thought 
of  the  Chinese  painters  in  these  daring  simplifications. 
Sometimes  they  are  carried  to  such  an  extreme 
as  to  leave  us  with  a feeling  of  perplexity.  Often 
however  they  give  rise  to  mighty  conceptions  and 

1 The  literati,  or  lettered  class,  were  the  aristocracy  in  what 
was  the  most  democratic  of  absolute  monarchies.  No  matter  how 
humble  his  origin,  anyone  of  the  male  sex  was  eligible  to  com- 
pete in  the  examinations  which  were  based  upon  literary  knowl- 
edge and  memory  of  the  classics.  Proficiency  in  handwriting 
was  a natural  result.  The  successful  candidate  might  aspire  to 
any  post  in  the  empire,  as  official  positions  were  bestowed 
through  literary  merit.  During  three  days  and  two  nights  at 
the  time  of  examination  the  candidate  was  not  allowed  to  leave 
his  tiny  box-like  cell,  lacking  even  space  to  lie  down.  Cases  of 
death  during  the  examinations  were  not  infrequent.  The  exami- 
nation halls  in  Peking  are  now  destroyed  and  those  in  Nanking 
with  20,000  cells  are  crumbling  away.  — Translator. 


90 


CHINESE  PAINT  ERS 


paintings  whose  essential  ^character  impresses  us  as 
a unique  product  of  genius.  Calligraphic  painting 
reached  its  highest  level  during  the  Sung  and  Yiian 
periods.  It  was  so  closely  allied  to  painting  that  the 
Emperor  Hui  Tsung,  who  ascended  the  throne  in 
1 100,  founded  the  Imperial  Academy  of  Calligraphy 
and  Painting  in  the  first  year  of  his  reign.  Hui  Tsung 
was  himself  a painter.  The  books  credit  him  with 
especial  mastery  in  the  representation  of  birds  of 
prey,  eagles,  falcons  and  hawks,  which  seems  to  be 
sufficient  reason  for  deliberately  attributing  to  him 
every  painting  of  a bird  of  prey,  even  when  there  is 
evidence  that  it  was  painted  two  or  three  centuries 
later  than  his  time.  Perhaps  before  long  we  shall 
find  authentic  paintings  by  Hui  Tsung.  A painting 
belonging  to  the  Musee  Guimet,  which  comes  from  the 
collection  of  Tuan  Fang,  is  the  one  which  by  its  anno- 
tations bears  the  greatest  guaranty  of  authenticity, 
but  it  is  a representation  of  a figure  painting  of  the 
T'ang  dynasty  and  gives  us  no  information  as  to  the 
manner  in  which  Hui  Tsung  painted  eagles.  However, 
certain  paintings  from  his  collections  have  come  down 
to  us.  Whether  or  not  by  the  imperial  hand  they 
proclaim  a virile  art,  an  instinct  for  the  grandiose  and 
a majestic  character  which  are  the  qualities  of  which 
the  eagle  is  a symbol. 

The  foundation  of  the  Academy  of  Calligraphy  and 
Painting  had  results  quite  other  than  those  hoped  for 
by  its  founder.  It  became  imbued  with  the  evils  of 


EVOLUTION  OF  CHINESE  PAINTING  QI 

formalism.  It  was  established  in  the  imperial  capital 
in  court  surroundings,  in  other  words,  in  an  atmosphere 
from  which  true  artists  depart  with  all  possible  speed. 
It  suffered  inevitably  through  the  influences  of  a taste, 
refined  it  is  true,  but  which  already  inclined  toward 
mannerisms  and  preciosity.  Conventions  were  estab- 
lished, subjects  became  stereotyped,  the  taste  for 
brilliant  colors  developed  and,  even  before  the  end  of 
the  Sung  period,  there  was  a marked  division  be- 
tween academic  and  national  art.  Pedantry  and 
affectation  began  to  take  the  place  of  boldness  and 
strength. 

Doubtless  this  tendency  would  have  developed  still 
further  but  for  a series  of  disasters  and  the  menace  of 
a new  dynasty  looming  on  the  horizon  of  Central  Asia, 
which  was  already  resounding  with  the  clash  of  Mongol 


arms. 


VI.  THE  YUAN  PERIOD  — THIRTEENTH 
AND  FOURTEENTH  CENTURIES 

From  the  standpoint  of  civilization  the  Mongolian 
dynasty  of  Yiian  brought  nothing  to  China. 
On  the  contrary,  the  foreign  elements  were 
absorbed  by  the  ancient  culture  for,  in  the  final  sum- 
ming-up, the  mind  will  always  be  stronger  than 
weapons.  From  the  standpoint  of  painting,  however, 
this  period  has  marked  individuality. 

The  Sung  period  had  been  distinctly  dominated  by 
the  Ideals  of  Southern  China.  Philosophical  inspira- 
tion had  proven  too  strong  to  permit  the  style  of  the 
Northern  School  to  assert  absolute  sway.  In  this 
we  must  make  an  exception  of  Buddhist  painting, 
which,  — save  in  the  work  of  a few  chance  painters 
of  religious  subjects  — continues  the  traditions  of 
the  T’ang  period,  preserving  the  original  character  of 
its  coloring.  It  is  true  that  there  were  masterpieces 
to  the  credit  of  the  Northern  School  but  it  had  by 
no  means  kept  to  the  style  of  vivid  Illumination  which 
marked  its  inception.^  It  had  yielded  to  the  influence 

^ It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  author  uses  the  term 
illumination  in  the  sense  of  color  applied  within  a distinct  and 
limiting  outline.  This  is  illustrated  in  the  definitions  of  single 
and  double  contour. — Translator. 


92 


Yuan  Period.  Musee  Guimet. 


EVOLUTION  OF  CHINESE  PAINTING  95 

of  the  Southern  style,  was  simplified  by  this  con- 
tact and  took  on  the  austerity  and  proportion  of  the 
South.  It  would  seem  as  if  the  painters  hastened  to 
add  their  testimony  before  the  philosophy  of  the 
ancient  sages  should  disappear.  They  strove  to  give 
the  world  perfect  images  in  which  the  great  principles 
of  the  universe  could  be  felt  vibrating.  The  only 
suitable  medium  for  such  expression  was  the  tech- 
nique of  the  Southern  School  which  they  followed 
with  more  or  less  fidelity. 

Southern  China  was  at  that  time  the  scene  of 
awakened  faculties.  Shaken  to  its  foundations  by  the 
mystic  movement  — both  Taoist  and  Buddhist  — of 
the  T’ang  period,  the  Confuclan  doctrine  had  lost 
ground  but  had  not  yet  congealed  into  the  rigid  official 
code  of  a Chu  Hsl.  While  heterodox  beliefs  still 
prevailed,  all  were  free  to  borrow  their  prophetic  and 
poetic  meaning. 

When  the  Mongols  came  into  power,  they  only 
carried  to  completion  the  work  of  conservation  be- 
gun by  the  Sung  emperors.  In  their  contact  with 
China  they  resembled  timid  pupils  quite  as  much 
as  conquerors.  Once  emperor  of  China,  the  Mongol 
Kublal  Khan  could  not  but  remember  his  purely 
Chinese  education.  Moreover  it  was  quite  the  Tartar 
custom  to  extend  their  conquests  to  administrative 
organization,  by  establishing  a hierarchy  of  func- 
tionaries. The  conception  of  a supreme  and  auto- 
cratic State,  paternal  in  its  absolutism,  interven- 


96  CHINESE  PAINTERS 

ing  even  to  the  details  of  private  life  in  order  to 
assure  the  happiness  of  the  people,  — this  idea,  dear 
to  the  literary  conservators  of  the  Confucian  School 
during  the  Sung  period,  was  also  too  similar  to  the 
Tartar  ideal  to  be  denied  immediate  adoption.  Heter- 
odox doctrines  were  formally  banished  from  schools. 
Rejected  with  scorn  as  being  corrupt  and  dangerous, 
there  remained  of  these  doctrines  only  such  residuum 
as  might  be  found  in  the  independent  thought  of 
artists,  who  were  more  difficult  to  control.  The  mag- 
nificent movement  of  the  Sung  period  began  to  abate; 
it  produced  its  last  master  pieces  and  gradually  waned, 
until  under  Ming  rule  it  was  to  die  out  completely. 

The  Yiian  epoch,  therefore,  appears  in  the  light 
of  a transition  period  connecting  the  fifteenth  century 
of  Ming  with  the  thirteenth  century  of  Sung.  From 
the  point  of  view  which  interests  us,  it  did  nothing  but 
complete  a work  which  had  been  carried  on  with 
energy  and  success  by  adherents  in  the  twelfth  and 
thirteenth  centuries.  It  strove  to  reduce  China  to  a 
severely  regulated  State  in  which  all  great  movements 
and  impulses  should  be  under  strict  control.  It  suc- 
ceeded. It  succeeded  so  well,  indeed,  that  the  Euro- 
peans who  came  to  know  China  in  the  seventeenth 
century  and  who  rediscovered  it  so  unnecessarily  in  the 
nineteenth  century,  believed  it  to  have  been  motionless 
for  two  thousand  years.  There  is  no  need  to  lay  stress 
here  upon  the  absurdity  of  this  prevalent  opinion.  It 
has  been  seen  in  the  past  and  will  be  seen  in  modern 


PLATE  XV.  PAINTINGS  OF  THE  YUAN  OR  EARLY  MING  PERIOD 
Style  of  the  Northern  School.  Collection  of  R.  Petrucci. 


EVOLUTION  OF  CHINESE  PAINTING  99 

times,  that  the  inner  travail,  the  evolution  and  the 
diversity  are  by  no  means  arrested.  Like  the  nations 
of  Europe,  China  has  had  its  evolution;  the  causes 
were  analagous,  its  destiny  the  same.  This  is  espe- 
cially felt  in  the  history  of  its  painting.  When  the 
potent  inspiration  of  the  Southern  School  began  to 
wane,  the  style  of  the  North  took  the  upper  hand  for 
obvious  reasons. 

Partially  civilized  barbarians  occupied  the  highest 
places  in  the  State.  They  were  the  controlling  party 
at  the  imperial  court  and  had  usurped  the  place  of  the 
old  society,  refined,  subtle  and  perhaps  too  studied, 
which  formed  the  environment  of  the  last  Sung  em- 
perors. Despite  their  naive  efforts  and  good  will, 
these  barbarians  could  not  fathom  an  art  so  austere, 
enlightened  and  balanced.  They  were  utterly  igno- 
rant of  such  a masterly  conception  of  nature  as  was 
evoked  in  Chinese  painting.  Monochrome  to  them 
was  dull.  They  could  admire  on  trust,  but  they  could 
not  understand.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Northern 
style  with  its  bold  assurance,  strong  coloring  and  draw- 
ing positive  almost  to  the  point  of  seeming  sculptural, 
was  more  akin  to  their  mental  outlook.  There  at 
least  they  found  something  which  recalled  those  rugs 
on  which  they  appear  to  have  exhausted  their  artistic 
resources.  In  a word,  they  were  more  accustomed 
to  the  Northern  style  and  had  brought  with  them 
from  the  Northern  regions  their  own  artists,  both 
Chinese  and  barbarian. 


100 


CHINESE  PAINTERS 


The  Northern  temperament,  reJQeetive,  strong  and 
positive,  now  began  to  assume  mastery  over  the  be- 
wildered reveries  of  the  Southern  nature.  Things  are 
seen  to  ehange.  Even  the  masters  who  eontinue 
the  Sung  tradition  infuse  a somewhat  more  robust 
quality  into  their  works,  but,  in  so  doing,  they  lose 
a eertain  stirring  depth  whieh  gave  the  work  of  their 
predeeessors  sueh  an  exeeptional  eharaeter.  Caught 
between  these  two  tendeneies.  Yuan  painting  takes 
on  new  traits,  whieh  are  perhaps  more  aeeessible  to 
European  mentality  beeause  they  are  more  simple 
and  direct.  These  observations  apply  to  the  general 
evolution  of  Chinese  painting  from  the  end  of  the 
thirteenth  to  the  end  of  the  fourteenth  centuries. 
We  must  now  consider  it  more  in  detail,  citing  by  way 
of  illustration  a few  of  the  painters  who  expressed 
the  spirit  of  the  time. 

At  its  inception  the  Yiian  dynasty  had  inherited  the 
last  masters  of  the  Sung  period,  among  them  two  artists 
who  arc  recognized  as  of  the  first  rank.  Chao  Meng-fu 
— known  also  under  the  appellation  of  Tzu-ang  — 
was  born  in  1254.  "He  was  a descendant  of  the  first 
Sung  emperor  and  held  an  hereditary  post  which  he 
resigned  at  the  time  the  Yuan  dynasty  came  into 
power.  He  retired  into  private  life  until  1286,  then 
when  called  back  to  court  as  a high  functionary,  he 
became  a supporter  of  the  new  dynasty.  Chao 
Meng-fu  painted  landscape  as  well  as  figures,  flowers 
and  the  bamboo,  but  he  is  most  celebrated  for  his 


PLATE  XVI.  PORTRAIT  OF  A PRIEST 
Yiian  or  Early  Ming  Period.  Collection  of  II.  Riviere. 


EVOLUTION  OF  CHINESE  PAINTING  IO3 

horses.  Numberless  paintings  of  horses  are  attributed 
to  this  master;  needless  to  say  the  great  majority  of 
these  are  not  by  his  hand. 

As  a landscape  painter  he  seems  to  have  worked  in 
the  style  of  the  Southern  School,  with  a fine,  sim- 
ple line  in  which  may  still  be  seen  traces  of  the 
ancient  tradition  that  extends  back  to  Ku  K’ai-chih. 
This  characteristic  line  is  found  in  the  paintings 
of  men  and  horses  where  the  hand  of  Chao  Meng-fu 
is  distinguishable.  He  bequeaths  it  to  the  large 
school  which  he  founded,  and,  through  his  pupils, 
it  becomes  the  inheritance  of  his  imitators  in  the 
Ming  period.  It  is  more  than  probable  that  almost 
all  of  the  paintings  by  his  pupils,  bearing  the  signa- 
ture Tzu-ang,  are  attributed  to  the  master,  while  his 
own  paintings  are  ascribed  to  Han  Kan,  painter  of 
horses  in  the  T’ang  period.  However,  among  the 
numerous  works  attributed  to  Chao  Meng-fu,  there 
are  a few  in  which  we  recognize  the  vibrant  and 
flexible  line  which  is  seen  in  his  landscapes.  These 
paintings  bear  the  signature  of  Tzu-ang,  in  all  prob- 
ability a false  one,  but  the  work  of  art  itself  will 
always  be  of  greater  value  in  determining  its  authen- 
ticity than  the  most  impressive  of  inscriptions.  If  the 
technique  and  the  quality  of  the  line  are  sufficiently 
similar  to  warrant  attributing  to  the  same  hand  the 
landscape  in  the  British  Museum,  and  any  particular 
painting  of  horses,  this  may  be  regarded  as  sufficient 
evidence  on  which  to  base  our  own  opinion  as  to  his  style. 


104  CHINESE  PAINTERS 

Amongst  his  grooms  and  mounted  soldiers,  Chao 
Meng-fu  painted  the  different  races  which  the  wave 
of  Mongolian  invasion  had  swept  into  China:  Chinese 
from  the  central  provinces,  Tartars,  Mongols  with  fur 
caps,  Moslems  of  a Semitic  type  from  Turkestan, 
with  white  turbans  and  heavy  earrings.  Whether  his 
subject  was  the  little  Tartar  horse  from  the  Mongolian 
plains  or  the  beautiful  steeds  of  ancient  Transoxiana, 
always  brought  as  tribute  by  way  of  Khotan  to  the 
Chinese  court;  he  gave  the  life  of  the  horse  a singular 
beauty,  portraying  him  in  an  equally  happy  manner 
whether  in  the  act  of  racing  or  in  the  attitudes  of 
repose.  In  his  mind  still  dwelt  the  vision  of  Sung 
ideals,  which  proclaimed  the  hidden  soul  of  things 
and  valued  spirituality  and  life  in  a painting.  Al- 
though we  see  marked  evidence  of  the  Southern  style 
in  his  work, ' his  paintings  are  more  strongly  colored 
than  are  those  of  that  school.  The  influence  of  the 
Yiian  period  begins  to  make  itself  felt.  It  brings 
out  values  In  colored  pigment,  emphasizes  its  violence 
and  paves  the  way  for  a new  tradition. 

Chao  Meng-fu  has  been  compared  by  Chinese 
critics  to  his  great  predecessor  Han  Kan.  The  writ- 
ings, however,  are  unanimous  in  stating  that,  notwith- 
standing his  undeniable  mastery,  he  lacked  something 
of  the  vigor  of  the  earlier  master.  When  we  attempt 
to  compare  the  two  styles  through  the  aid  of  paintings 
of  the  T’ang  period,  wherein  a reflection  of  the  great 
animal  painter  may  be  sought,  the  writings  appear 


1 


PLATE  XVII.  HORSE 

Painting  by  an  unknown  artist.  Yiian  or  Early  Ming  Period. 
Doucet  Collection. 


EVOLUTION  OF  CHINESE  PAINTING  IO7 

to  be  confirmed  in  attributing  a more  positive  and 
forceful  character  to  the  work  of  Han  Kan  or  the 
unknown  group  of  painters  around  him.  But  Chao 
Meng-fu  seems  to  have  possessed  in  a higher  degree 
the  feeling  of  movement  and  life,  and  to  have  been 
less  hampered  in  his  choice  of  poses.  Centuries  of 
study  and  of  observation  had  intervened  between  the 
great  animal  painter  of  the  T’ang  epoch  and  his 
worthy  rival  of  a later  period. 

Like  Chao  Meng-fu,  Ch’ien  Hsiian,  or  Ch’ien 
Shun-chii,  retired  from  public  life  at  the  downfall  of 
the  Sung  dynasty.  He  was  a member  of  a group  of 
the  faithful  over  which  Chao  presided,  but,  more 
decided  than  the  latter  in  his  opposition  to  the  new 
dynasty,  he  was  indignant  at  his  confrere’s  defec- 
tion and  refused  to  follow  his  example.  He  lived  in 
retirement,  devoting  himself  to  painting  and  to  poetry 
up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  He  also  continued  the 
Sung  tradition  under  the  Yiian  dynasty  to  which,  as 
a matter  of  fact,  he  belonged  only  during  the  second 
part  of  his  life.  He  painted  figures,  landscape,  flowers 
and  birds.  His  delicate  line  is  not  lacking  in  strength, 
and  he  seems  to  have  been  especially  endowed  with 
a sense  of  form  which  approached  greatness  in  its 
simplicity.  Whether  the  subject  is  a young  prince  or 
a pigeon  perched  on  the  summit  of  a rock  from  which 
chrysanthemums  are  springing,  the  same  dignified 
and  tranquil  nobility  is  asserted  with  ease.  He  still 
used  the  quiet  and  restrained  coloring  of  the  Sung 


I08  CHINESE  PAINTERS 

period  and  prolonged,  without  impairing  it,  the  great 
tradition  that  a century  and  a half  could  not  quite 
efface. 

Of  Yen  Hui  we  know  almost  nothing;  the  books 
state  briefly  that  he  painted  Buddhist  figures,  birds 
and  flowers,  and  that  he  was  past  master  in  the  painting 
of  demons.  Nothing  is  known  of  the  date  of  his  birth 
or  if,  by  his  age  and  training,  he  could  be  classed  in 
the  Sung  period,  but  several  admirable  paintings  by 
him  are  extant  which  serve  to  show  how  Sung  art 
was  still  Interpreted  by  exceptional  masters  in  the 
Yuan  period.  His  line  is  strong,  broader,  fuller  and 
more  abrupt  than  that  of  Chao  Meng-fu  or  Ch’ien 
Shun-chii.  The  quivering  vitality  that  emanates  from 
his  pictures  is  thrilling.  Whether  the  subject  is  a peony 
heavy  with  dew,  whose  drooping  petals  presage  the 
approaching  end,  or  a Buddhist  monk  patching  his 
mantle,  the  fleeting  moment  is  seized  with  such  intui* 
tlve  power  that  prolonged  contemplation  of  the  paint- 
ing creates  the  impression  that  it  is  suddenly  about 
to  come  to  life.  There  is  something  sturdier,  more 
startling,  less  dreamy  in  these  great  painters  who 
continue  the  traditions  of  Sung  art;  their  work  alone 
demonstrated  that  tradition  could  be  revived  and 
that  ancient  China,  under  the  Mongolian  dynasty, 
was  still  preserving  its  creative  spirit  and  advancing 
resolutely  into  fertile  fields. 

In  Huang  Kung-wang  and  N1  Tsan,  we  approach 
a different  order  of  things.  Lines  began  to  take  on 


FROM  ON  HIGH 

Ming  Period.  British  Museum,  London. 


1 


»Sr  ■.t&^BEas^ 


/ 

c* 


r.-i 


#' 

■'  :4- 


"'•-::'iv^^<C.-"'-.  - 


*«  r.  ■ 


.'9  - 4- 


'•■  .-C 


>i^ 


/ ?.c  : '-  J^  f?  ■ 


#»  ' 


. ■ ' . '•: ':  ':• . , »f  „ ,'  - :- ' . *.3&  . • . • .\  ? ,'!& 


" ■ • * ■ _■••  ' J.  »iV-.  ► ;--.»5<-» 


>j 


\r^ 


»r*>’ 


' rf-  "?' 


Ir’ 

y 


< 


y.-  V' 3-,  - . 
->  . • '■'■*■*■ 


jSi 


-4.«j  <13 

- ■*“  SP...?T  . 


■ im'i-'i 


'<<  'V.VvijS 


f.  - 


,iw  ‘ 

p.-  . 1-  -';■-^  ■■''■  v.'’" /r:-.-.’  . i'  • i v*-\  -*  WV.-. 

P'%  »'  j,  -Y-,.  '■-  . • ^ ^ ',  V % . . ^-  - '^->  ■•  « - ? i ' >‘ 

r:/-  -2,<-  ..W'-  .4-.-..-:'V>*f.:-*^''=V  • •"•  ■-'■ 


7 .■ 


V 

I.  _ ^ 


♦ • 

.V 


-V#? 


^ ^ .1- 


r'* 


,r^- 


- V; 


' ^.  *-  •"•  «5-‘  ■♦1  --^  ® 


■ .-*.v  • V '^*'--- 

. •;•-  -V*  ^ '•'•'S£»-: 


%a  - i**-  ■s^'-^-.’-’'  ■ -'It  '*“**'"^^* 

-V"*  >i  ,-  . • ••  r-  *•»  ■'**'■  I ■>‘^V;'"-’ • ,^  '•  V'  *“-.,3* -;-■*■ 


EVOLUTION  OF  CHINESE  PAINTING  III 

a classical  character,  to  be  divided  into  a series  of 
different  types,  which  painters  adopted  according 
to  their  temperament  and  requirements,  and  finally 
became  impersonal  and  academic.  Both  of  these 
painters,  nevertheless,  were  under  the  spell  of  early  in- 
fluences extending  back  to  the  T’ang  artists.  Through 
study  of  these  old  masters  they  returned  to  the 
use  of  a full  and  sometimes  vivid  color,  but  kept  a 
profound  love  of  nature,  and  a fresh  and  original  vision, 
by  which  they  still  perpetuated  the  inspiration  of 
Sung  painting  in  a new  form.  With  these  painters, 
however,  new  features  appeared.  Reds  and  purples 
became  dominant  notes  amidst  rich  greens  which 
set  them  off  and  enhanced  their  brilliancy.  The 
vision  of  landscape  itself  is  somewhat  more  realistic 
and  less  subtle.  In  all  of  these  essentials  Ni  Tsan, 
who  died  in  1374,  brings  us  nearer  to  the  Ming  period. 

Simultaneously,  though  quite  apart,  marked  ten- 
dencies of  a different  character  were  evident.  The  old 
masters  of  the  T’ang  period  had  again  returned  to 
favor.  The  vivid  illumination  and  color  distinct  from 
drawing,  in  these  firm  and  vigorous  works  appealed 
to  the  untutored  barbarian.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
studies  of  the  Sung  period  had  not  been  fruitless; 
therefore  when,  under  these  influences,  the  use  of  color 
was  resumed,  the  painters  profited  by  what  the 
practice  of  monochrome  had  taught  meanwhile.  In 
the  Yuan  period  appear  those  paintings  which  are 
attacked  directly  with  a dripping  brush  without  pre- 


I 12 


CHINESE  PAINTERS 


liminary  drawing,  the  forms  being  modeled  in  the 
color  itself.  The  Chinese  called  this  painting  “with- 
out bones,”  in  other  words,  deprived  of  the  assist- 
ance of  line.  This  procedure  was  first  used  by  a 
painter  of  the  Sung  period,  but  it  did  not  take 
root  definitely  until  the  time  when  the  practice  of 
using  Chinese  ink  as  a medium  to  express  tones  had 
taught  painters  how  to  model  forms  in  color  itself, 
making  the  structure  depend  upon  color. 

Seen  as  a whole,  the  Yiian  period  witnessed  the 
assembling,  the  concentration,  so  to  speak,  of  the 
ardent  but  scattered  inspirations  of  the  great  masters 
of  the  preceding  school.  It  produced  splendid  com- 
positions in  which  the  golden  age  of  Chinese  painting 
continued  to  be  manifest.  Masters  arose  and  if,  in 
spite  of  all,  they  mark  a reaction  toward  the  Northern 
style,  seeking  rich  and  vivid  color,  they  give  us  a 
vision  of  beauty  that  is  equal  to  the  work  of  their 
predecessors. 

Meanwhile  grave  signs  of  decadence  were  apparent. 
Composition  became  overladen  and  complex  and  began 
to  lose  something  of  the  noble  simplicity,  greatness 
and  supreme  charm  of  the  old  masters.  It  was 
evident  that  the  Yiian  painters  were  working  under 
the  eye  of  the  barbarians.  They  yielded  to  the  taste 
of  the  latter  for  anecdote,  for  surmounting  difficulties 
and  for  sentimental  detail.  Thus  far  there  were  only 
scarcely  perceptible  shadows  and  momentary  weak- 
nesses, warning  signs  of  decadence;  but  when  such 


EVOLUTION  OF  CHINESE  PAINTING  II3 

signs  are  evident,  decadence  is  at  hand,  and  that 
which  the  virility  of  the  barbarians  had  preserved 
was  to  be  lost  through  the  creed-bound  dignity  of  an 
academic  China,  which  was  imprisoned  in  a rigid 
system  of  rules, 


VII.  THE  MING  PERIOD— FOURTEENTH 
TO  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURIES 


The  Ming  dynasty  came  into  power  on  the  wings 
of  national  feeling.  China  rallied  her  forces 
and  expelled  the  foreign  tyrants.  Without 
doubt  the  nation  cherished  the  illusion  of  rebuilding 
itself  upon  the  model  of  the  past,  and  the  first  em- 
perors of  the  dynasty  believed  that  the  empire  could 
be  re-established  upon  an  unshakable  foundation.  But 
the  Ming  dynasty,  in  reality,  was  but  the  heir  and 
follower  of  Yiian.  The  latter  itself  had  been  only 
a connecting  link.  It  had  changed  nothing,  but  had 
tended  rather  to  absorb  into  the  Chinese  system  the 
Northern  barbarians,  who  up  to  that  time  had  been 
foreigners.  It  had  unwittingly  achieved  unity  for 
China,  despite  itself  and  against  its  own  inclination. 
In  the  administration  of  the  empire,  it  had  finished 
the  program  of  conservation  which  the  Sung  dynasty, 
through  impotence,  had  been  unable  to  carry  to 
completion. 

The  Ming  dynasty  inherited  the  work  of  the  Mon- 
gols and  consolidated  it.  It  survived  under  their 
reign  and  under  that  of  the  Chhng  rulers  until 
the  final  disintegration,  of  which  we  have  but  recently 


PLATE  XIX.  EGRETS  BY  LIN  LIANG 
.Ming  Period.  Collection  of  .Mrs.  John  D.  Rockefeller,  Junior, 


EVOLUTION  OF  CHINESE  PAINTING  II7 

seen  the  results.  The  peaceful  ideals  of  the  Ming 
dynasty,  the  marked  predominance  of  Confucianism 
as  a code  of  ethics,  with  certain  modifications  by 
Chu  Hsi,  combined  to  form  an  ensemble  that  was 
apparently  perfect  and  which  made  it  possible  to 
have  faith  in  the  excellence  of  the  principles  laid 
down  by  the  monarchy.  Thus  a school  was  formed 
which  had  its  own  philosophy,  manners  and  ideals, 
all  of  them  cold,  stiff  and  without  spontaneity.  It 
was  an  over-perfect  machine  which  went  like  clock- 
work. The  world  was  judged  with  a narrow  and 
somewhat  stupid  self-confidence.  The  ideal  dwelt 
in  the  word  of  Confucian  writings,  divorced  from 
their  true  meaning,  and  so  badly  interpreted  that  they 
ceased  to  be  understood  aright.  The  meticulous, 
bureaucratic  and  hieratic  administration  of  the  Tar- 
tars was  a perfect  system  of  government.  The  ma- 
chine was  still  new  and  worked  well,  whence  arose 
a false  impression  of  permanence  which  added  still 
further  to  the  complacency  of  the  conservative  mind. 
An  art  was  necessary  to  this  China.  She  had  it. 
It  was  academic  painting. 

Side  by  side  with  this  and  yet  apart,  other  influences 
were  at  work.  Notwithstanding  the  prohibition  of 
books  on  heterodox  philosophies  in  schools,  accom- 
panied by  the  widespread  decadence  of  Buddhism, 
and  the  complete  downfall  of  Taoism  owing  to  gross 
practices  in  popular  magic,  and  despite  the  disdain  of 
the  official  world,  another  element  in  China  was  preserv- 


Il8  CHINESE  PAINTERS 

ing  the  spirit  of  the  past,  the  restless  spirit  that  craved 
novelty.  In  all  probability  its  obscure  workings  did 
not  appear  immediately  upon  the  surface,  concealed 
as  they  were  by  the  strictly  prescribed  screen  of  offi- 
cial China.  They  were  sufficiently  strong,  however, 
to  give  rise  to  an  art  which  differed  essentially  from 
academic  art,  and  which  numbered  masters  who 
were  comparable  with  those  of  the  past.  In  spite  of 
adverse  circumstances  and  the  weight  under  which 
these  movements  were  buried,  they  made  themselves 
felt  in  violent  upheavals.  First  let  us  draw  a picture 
of  the  decadence  of  an  art  and  later  we  shall  return 
to  activity  and  life. 

Official  painting  in  the  Ming  period  rapidly  stiffened 
Into  convention.  To  understand  how  it  took  shape, 
we  must  go  back  to  the  time  of  Hui  Tsung  and  observe 
the  method  of  recruiting  talent  in  the  Academy  which 
he  founded. 

That  painting  was  allied  to  philosophic  and  poetic 
thought  is  already  known.  It  was  always  a refined 
diversion  of  poets  and  painters  to  unite  in  a quest 
for  the  beautiful.  The  poet  wrote  verses  and  the 
painter  painted  a picture  suggesting,  sometimes  re- 
motely, the  thought  enshrined  in  the  poem.  Such 
were  the  conditions  upon  which  Hui  Tsung  instituted 
examinations,  following  which  the  doors  of  the  Acad- 
emy were  open  to  the  victor.  • He  gave,  for  example, 
as  subject  for  a competition  a verse  saying,  “The 
bamboos  envelop  the  inn  beyond  the  bridge,”  which 


PLATE  XX.  FLOWERS  AND  INSECTS 
Ming  Period.  Collection  of  R.  Petrucci. 


EVOLUTION  OF  CHINESE  PAINTING  I2I 

suggested  a landscape  with  flowing  water,  a rustic 
bridge  thrown  across  the  stream,  a cluster  of  bamboos 
on  the  bank,  a “winehouse”  half  hidden  in  the  verdure. 
All  the  competitors,  the  records  say,  set  to  work 
drawing  with  minute  care  the  inn  which  they  made  the 
essential  feature  of  the  picture.  Only  one  implied 
its  presence  by  showing,  above  a dense  cluster  of 
bamboos,  the  little  banner  which  in  China  denotes 
the  presence  of  a “winehouse.”  Two  verses  of  another 
poem  in  which  allusion  was  made  to  the  red  flowers  of 
spring  were  interpreted  by  the  representation  of  a 
beautiful  young  girl  dressed  in  red,  leaning  on  a balus- 
trade, for  according  to  Chinese  ideas,  the  thoughts 
of  young  men  in  spring  turn  there,  as  elsewhere, 
toward  thoughts  of  love. 

We  have  here  an  example  of  the  subtle  allusions, 
at  times  profoundly  poetic,  with  which  Chinese  paint- 
ing abounds.  But  these  things  retain  their  value 
and  charm  only  in  so  far  as  they  depend  on  a free 
play  of  mind  or  upon  personal,  living  sentiments. 
As  accepted  conventions  regulated  in  an  academic 
competition,  repeated  with  sustained  effort  and  without 
enthusiasm,  their  rigid  monotony  becomes  intolerable. 
Such  was  the  ultimate  fate  of  that  ability  to  express 
by  half  meanings,  to  suggest  without  directly  stating, 
to  which  the  Sung  painters  attached  so  great  an 
importance.  The  day  it  was  understood  that  a little 
banner  fluttering  over  bamboos  indicated  the  pres- 
ence of  a ‘Svinehouse’’  in  a sylvan  retreat,  or  that 


I 22 


CHINESE  PAINTERS 


a young  girl  dressed  in  red  symbolized  the  crimson 
blooming  of  a garden  pink  in  springtime,  banners 
and  young  girls  dressed  in  red  were  seen  in  paintings 
innumerable  to  the  point  of  satiety. 

Thus  were  established  those  dry  conventions  of  a 
somewhat  stupid  erudition  which  were  so  much  the 
fashion  in  the  academic  painting  of  the  Ming  and  the 
Ch’ing  periods,  and  whose  great  success  repressed  the 
artistic  aspirations  of  a people.  Under  these  influences 
was  rapidly  assembled  a complete  arsenal  of  allegories, 
allusions  and  symbols  that  gave  birth  to  an  art  which 
was  possibly  very  learned,  but  which  was  inartistic 
to  the  last  degree.  An  academician  of  the  Ming  period 
would  have  thought  himself  disgraced  if  he  had  not 
proven  by  complicated  compositions  the  extent  of  his 
knowledge  of  things  of  this  character.  Art  was  no 
longer  anything  but  a kind  of  puzzle.  Furthermore, 
the  decadence  of  eye  and  hand  followed  that  of  the 
mind,  and  there  next  appeared  a taste  for  brilliant 
colors,  overladen  compositions,  and  fine  and  meticu- 
lous lines,  culminating  in  an  unbearable  nicety.  The 
work  of  the  Academy  is  summed  up  in  these  words. 

Let  us  turn  aside  from  an  art  that  is  inert.  It 
robbed  things  of  the  creative  spirit  that  animated 
them.  We  shall  now  see  what  was  achieved  by  those 
who  followed  in  the  steps  of  the  old  masters. 

The  fifteenth  century  in  China  witnessed  a continu- 
ance of  the  style  prevalent  during  the  Sung  and  Yiian 
periods.  Chou  Chih-mlen,  for  example,  was  true 


EVOLUTION  OF  CHINESE  PAINTING  1 23 

to  that  profound  feeling  for  form,  that  delieacy  of 
coloring,  and  rhythm  in  composition  which  were  the 
endowment  of  the  greatest  masters.  Shen  Chou 

belonged  entirely  to  the  Yiian  school,  and  to  prove 
that  the  old  ideals  were  not  dead,  we  have  in  the 
fifteenth  century  the  magnificent  group  of  painters  of 
the  plum  tree,  with  Lu  Fu  and  Wang  Yuan-chang 
at  their  head. 

As  before  stated,  a special  philosophy  was  associated 
with  this  tree  and  its  flowers.  The  white  petals 

scattered  on  vigorous  branches  had  long  typified  an 
inner  soul,  whose  purity  was  the  very  likeness  of 
virtue  and  of  tenderness.  Chung  Jen,  who  in  the 
eleventh  century  wrote  a treatise  on  the  painting  of 
the  plum  tree,  explains  in  his  chapter  on  “the  deriva- 
tion of  forms  ” that  it  is  a symbol,  a concentrated 

form,  a likeness  of  the  universe.  The  great  funda- 

mental principles  mingle  harmoniously  within  it;  they 
express  themselves  in  its  shape  and  reveal  themselves 
through  its  beauty.  Similar  to  this  was  the  philosophy 
associated  with  the  bamboo,  which  endured  up  to  the 
fifteenth  century.  The  subtle  monochromes  of  Lu  Fu 
show  branches  of  flowering  plum  swaying  in  the  breeze. 
In  the  great  works  of  Wang  Yuan-chang  trunks  of 
old  trees,  still  bearing  hardy  blossoms,  stand  proudly 
in  the  magical  radiance  of  the  moon.  Vibration  and 
power,  grandeur  and  majesty,  such  are  the  qualities 
which  were  still  sought  amidst  the  severe  conditions 
imposed  by  the  use  of  black  and  white.  Here  we  feel 


124  CHINESE  PAINTERS 

that  the  creative  force  is  not  yet  spent.  We  find  it 
equally  fresh  and  vigorous  in  the  ink  bamboos  of 
Wen  Cheng-ming  in  the  sixteenth  century. 

In  landscape,  however,  new  elements  appear  which 
mark  a decline.  I have  already  laid  stress  on  the 
overladen  composition  which  developed  in  the  Yiian 
epoch.  This  was  still  more  noticeable  in  the 
Ming  period.  When  pictorial  art  has  had  a long 
scries  of  masters,  a certain  eclecticism  is  infallibly 
produced.  This  leads  to  the  rejection  of  the  direct 
study  of  nature,  in  favor  of  viewing  it  only  through 
the  eyes  of  the  old  masters.  This  phenomenon 
appeared  in  China  as  well  as  in  Europe.  The  land- 
scape painters  of  the  Ming  period  studied  the 
technique  of  the  T’ang  and  the  Sung  epochs  and 
codified  their  system  of  lines,  arranging  them  in 
series  according  to  types  and  schools;  in  short,  they 
drew  from  these  a ready-made  technique  by  which 
they  were  controlled.  Turning  from  nature  they 
yielded  to  imagination.  They  delighted  in  painting 
fanciful  landscapes  and  were  Inclined  toward  images 
that  were  more  external  and  less  inspired  than  in  the 
past.  Their  works,  however,  were  invested  with  great 
charm,  and  the  impossible  disposition  of  their  cluster- 
ing peaks  and  oddly  cleft  rocks  cannot  but  appeal 
to  the  imagination. 

In  these  overladen  compositions  the  unity  of  the 
picture  is  lost.  We  arc  no  longer  in  the  presence  of  a 
simple  and  forceful  idea,  but  behold  a thousand  in- 


PLATE  XXL  LANDSCAPE 
Ming  Period.  Bouasse-Lebel  Collection. 


EVOLUTION  OF  CHINESE  PAINTING  127 

cidents,  a thousand  little  details,  exquisite  in  them- 
selves, but  which  require  a search.  It  is  a new  con- 
ception of  landscape.  We  may  possibly  prefer  the 
gripping  formula  of  Sung  and  Yuan  art,  but  we  are 
forced  to  acknowledge  that  this  later  work  has  great 
charm  and  extreme  refinement. 

To  this  general  trend  was  added  a new  taste  in 
color,  which  became  brilliant  and  complex  like  the  com- 
position itself,  harmonious  and  graceful  in  the  paint- 
ings of  the  masters  and  always  charming  in  the  work 
of  painters  of  the  second  rank;  but  this  was  the 
herald  of  a blatant  and  vulgar  manner  which  gradu- 
ally gained  ground  until  it  came  to  be  generally 
adopted  by  the  artisans  of  the  Ch’ing  period. 

While  landscape  under  the  Ming  painters  was  as- 
suming a different  guise,  and,  forgetful  of  the  observ- 
ances of  the  past,  was  beguiling  the  mind  by  its 
charm  and  delicacy,  a new  type  of  figure  was  also 
developing.  Here  we  must  pause  for  a moment. 

We  have  seen  that  figures  were  treated  before 
landscape  by  the  painters  of  periods  preceding  the 
T’ang  dynasty.  This  early  tradition  had  submitted 
to  the  influence  of  Buddhist  art  and,  while  certain 
of  its  elements  were  revived  in  the  work  of  a few 
masters,  there  is  no  doubt  that  figure  painting  from 
the  seventh  and  eighth  centuries  on,  was  absolutely 
revolutionized.  The  inevitable  result  was  a new  type 
in  the  sixteenth  century.  Painters  studied  the  line  for 
itself,  determined  its  proportions,  and  analyzed  features 


128 


CHINESE  PAINTERS 


and  drapery.  As  far  as  our  present  knowledge  ex- 
tends, their  observations  were  not  collected  and  codi- 
fied until  the  end  of  the  nineteenth  century,  but  the 
assembled  writings  testify  that  the  result  of  their 
studies  was  expressed  along  the  lines  indicated  from 
the  end  of  the  fifteenth  and  the  beginning  of  the 
sixteenth  centuries.  Their  ideal  was  totally  different 
from  that  of  the  old  masters.  The  figure  treated 
for  itself  with  but  few  accessories  became  the  sole 
aim  of  the  painter.  He  endeavored  to  show  the  charm 
of  a woman’s  face,  the  dainty  and  elegant  gestures, 
the  supple  and  voluptuous  gait,  and  he  grasped  the 
characteristics  and  peculiarities  of  a man’s  figure  by 
means  of  an  intensified  drawing.  At  times,  the 
influence  of  analysis  was  so  objective  that  it  re- 
sulted in  a painting  closely  approaching  European 
standards.  The  taste  expressed  in  landscape  was  like- 
wise evident  in  figures.  There  were  brilliant  and  har- 
monious colors,  a charm  which  became  exquisite  in 
the  coquettish  and  vivacious  faces  of  women  with 
ivory  skin  and  brilliant  eyes,  of  graceful  movements, 
and  with  long,  slender,  delicate  hands,  Incarnations  of 
the  fairies  of  ancient  legend  or  historic  beauties  whose 
memory  still  lived. 

In  a word,  the  philosophical  inspiration  to  which  the 
Sung  dynasty  owed  its  glory  was  discarded  to  make 
way  for  the  painting  of  everyday  life,  a realistic  repre- 
sentation of  the  world  and  its  activities,  which  in 
Japan  gave  rise  to  the  Ukloyoye  school,  and  in  China 


EVOLUTION  OF  CHINESE  PAINTING  I2Q 

recruited  a series  of  painters  of  the  first  rank  outside 
the  limits  of  academic  tradition. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  study  the  influence  of 
this  movement  of  the  China  of  the  time  of  Ming 
upon  the  originators  of  the  Ukioyoye  in  Japan.  It  is 
certain  that  the  movement  on  the  continent  preceded 
similar  manifestations  in  the  island  empire  by  a cen- 
tury, and  it  is  also  certain  that  the  Japanese  empire 
was  directly  influenced  by  the  China  of  the  Ming 
period.  Chinese  painters  were  established  in  Japan  as 
early  as  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries.  There 
is  one  of  whose  family  name  we  are  ignorant  and  who 
is  known  only  under  the  appellation  of  Ju-sue,  — in 
Japanese  Josetsu.  He  left  China,  where  the  domina- 
tion of  official  art  stood  in  the  way  of  an  independent 
career,  carried  the  traditions  of  Sung  and  Yiian  art  to 
Japan,  gathered  pupils  about  him  there,  and  had  the 
glory  of  being  the  founder  of  that  magnificent  school 
of  which  Scsshiu  is  the  leading  exponent.  There  is 
only  one  small  painting  which  can  be  attributed  to 
Ju-sue  with  certainty.  This  is  preserved  in  a Japanese 
temple.  Unfortunately  it  is  a work  of  small  im- 
portance which,  notwithstanding  its  intrinsic  value, 
by  no  means  furnishes  sufficient  information  to  enable 
us  to  pronounce  on  the  authenticity  of  several  other 
works  which  are  said  to  be  by  his  hand.  We  find  in 
the  latter  an  extremely  individual  art,  in  accordance 
with  early  traditions,  but  with  the  addition  of  some- 
thing fanciful  and  unexpected  which  gives  this  painter 


130  CHINESE  PAINTERS 

marked  distinction.  Having  worked  outside  of  China, 
however,  his  influence  was  not  felt  in  the  evolution 
of  Chinese  painting. 

In  the  seventeenth  century  Ming  art  came  in  con- 
tact with  the  art  of  the  Europeans.  The  methods  and 
rules  of  the  Italian  ateliers  of  the  end  of  the  Renais- 
sance were  brought  to  China  by  missionary  painters 
whose  talent  was  of  a secondary  order.  The  system  of 
monocular  perspective  and  modeling,  strongly  accen- 
tuated by  the  opposition  of  light  and  shade,  made  a 
forcible  impression  on  the  Chinese  mind.  Indications 
of  this  are  found  in  the  Chinese  books  on  art.  But 
the  technical  methods  were  too  different  and  the 
systems  too  much  at  variance  to  meet  on  any  common 
ground.  Notwithstanding  its  effect  upon  certain  pain- 
ters, the  influence  of  European  painting  was  on  the 
whole  negligible.  Father  Matteo  Ricci  worked  at  the 
end  of  the  Ming  period  under  the  Chinese  name  of 
Li  Ma-tu  and  Father  Castiglione,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  Ch’ing  dynasty,  used  the  name  of  Lang  Chii-ning, 
but,  although  the  former  continued  to  use  European 
methods,  while  the  latter  adopted  the  Chinese  pro- 
cedure, these  were  only  Isolated  efforts  submerged  in 
the  great  wave  of  Asiatic  evolution. 


VIII.  THE  CH’ING  PERIOD  — SEVENTEENTH 
TO  TWENTIETH  CENTURIES 

The  Ch’ing  or  Manchu  dynasty,  whose  downfall 
we  have  recently  witnessed,  brought  no  new 
vigor  to  China.  Barbarians  once  again  invaded 
the  aged  and  enfeebled  empire  usurping  the  methods, 
history  and  organization  of  the  preceding  periods. 
The  change  in  China  at  the  end  of  the  seventeenth 
century  was  only  dynastic.  The  evolution  of  Ming 
tendencies  continued,  and  despite  the  reorganization 
undertaken  by  Kang  Hsi  and  maintained  by  his  two 
successors,  the  excessive  requirements  of  the  old 
system,  which  had  been  formulated  during  the  Sung 
epoch  and  definitely  established  in  the  Yiian  and 
Ming  periods,  were  so  exacting  that  irremediable 
decadence  was  inevitable.  Thenceforward  no  great 
changes  in  the  realm  of  painting  need  be  expected. 
It  only  continued  its  logical  evolution. 

It  is  necessary,  nevertheless,  to  lay  stress  on  the 
value  of  Chinese  painting  from  the  seventeenth  to 
the  twentieth  century,  for  an  opinion  is  current  that, 
while  there  might  still  be  something  of  value  under 
the  Ming  dynasty,  nothing  good  was  produced  under 

the  Ch’ing.  It  is  undeniable  that  marked  signs  of 

131 


132  CHINESE  PAINTERS 

decadence  are  seen  in  the  latter  period,  but  by  the 
side  of  some  inferior  works,  others  exist  which  maintain 
the  vitality  of  the  past  and  the  hope  of  a renaissance. 

In  refutation  of  such  hasty  and  ill  informed  opinion, 
it  is  sufficient  to  recall  a number  of  paintings,  signed 
and  dated,  of  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries, 
which  dealers  or  collectors  calmly  attribute  to  the 
eleventh  and  twelfth. 

Chinese  painting  at  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  and 
the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  was  still  full 
of  vitality.  The  taste  for  brilliant  color  gradually 
diminished,  and  the  composition  became  broader  and 
more  noble  at  the  hands  of  certain  painters,  in  whom 
is  seen  the  revival  of  the  vigorous  race  of  yore.  This 
was  the  time  when  Yiin  Shou-phng,  more  commonly 
known  under  the  name  of  Nan-t'ien,  painted  landscape 
and  flowers  with  the  restraint  and  power  of  the  old 
style,  and  when  Shen  Nan-p’ing  set  out  for  Japan  to 
found  a modern  Chinese  school  which  was  to  rival  the 
Ukioyoye  in  importance  and  activity.  About  them 
was  grouped  a large  following,  foretelling  fresh  devel- 
opments. 

No  support  was  given  to  this  movement  by  the  new 
government,  which  was  infatuated  with  the  academic 
style  of  the  earlier  reigns  and  becoming  more  and  more 
ignorant  as  the  last  years  of  the  nineteenth  century 
approached.  In  the  eighteenth  century  a compara- 
tively large  number  of  Chinese  painters  settled  in 
Japan,  where  they  continued  the  traditions  of  Ming 


PLATE  XXII.  BEAUTY  INHALING  THE  FRAGRANCE  OF  A 

PEONY 

Ming  Period.  Collection  of  V.  Goloubew. 


ii 


EVOLUTION  OF  CHINESE  PAINTING  1 35 

art.  The  observation  of  a Nan-t’ien  or  of  a Shen  Nan- 
p’ing  was  keen  and  painstaking,  but  the  objeetivity 
and  realism  now  coming  to  the  fore,  were  conspicuous 
in  their  works.  No  longer  was  it  the  world  of  pure 
substance  and  abstract  principle  that  was  sought, 
but  the  real,  everyday  world,  the  world  of  objective 
forms  studied  for  themselves,  living  their  own  life, 
on  the  threshold  of  which  the  spirit  halted,  no  longer 
guided  by  the  old  philosophies. 

This  character  was  maintained  up  to  the  nineteenth 
century.  It  is  seen  in  the  painting  of  flowers  and 
landscape  as  well  as  in  figure  painting.  These  traits  are 
equally  apparent  in  an  iris  by  Nan  then  and  a person- 
age by  Huang  Yin-piao.  The  latter,  working  in  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  evoked  the  personages 
of  Buddhist  and  Taoist  legend  with  a skillful  brush,  but 
his  daring  simplifications  were  more  akin  to  virtuosity 
than  to  that  deep  reflection  and  freedom  from  non- 
essentials  which  were  the  glory  of  the  early  masters. 
Herein  are  discerned  the  elements  of  decadence, 
which  are  wont  to  assume  precisely  this  aspect  of  a 
mastery  over  difficulties.  For  such  ends  genuine  re- 
search and  the  true  grasp  of  form  were  gradually 
abandoned. 

Calligraphy  and  the  literary  style  were  not  over- 
looked, but  they  were  carried  to  a point  of  abstraction 
that  is  beyond  the  province  of  art.  A personage  was 
represented  by  lines  which  formed  characters  in  hand- 
writing and  which,  in  drawing  the  figure,  at  the  same 


136  CHINESE  PAINTERS 

time  wrote  a sentence.  Doubtless  that  is  a proof  of 
marvelous  skill.  I agree  in  assigning  such  master- 
pieces to  the  realm  of  calligraphy  but  refuse  to  admit 
them  to  the  domain  of  painting. 

This  applies  as  well  to  the  so-called  thumb  nail 
painting  held  in  high  repute  under  the  last  dynasty. 
In  this  the  brush  is  abandoned  and  the  line  is  drawn 
by  the  finger  dipped  in  ink  or  color.  The  painting  is 
done  on  modern  paper  of  a special  kind  which  partially 
absorbs  the  paint,  in  the  manner  of  blotting  paper;  this 
results  in  weak  lines,  and  ink  and  color  schemes  devoid 
of  firmness,  in  short,  in  a lack  of  virility  which  places 
such  works,  notwithstanding  their  virtuosity,  in  the 
category  of  artisan  achievements.  These  works  are 
numerous  in  the  modern  period  and  constitute  what 
so  many  regard  as  Chinese  painting.  One  cannot 
be  too  careful  in  discarding  them. 

During  every  period  decorative  paintings,  religious 
paintings  and  ancestral  paintings  made  after  death, 
were  executed  in  China  by  artisans,  ordinary  workmen 
at  the  service  of  whosoever  might  engage  them.  Such 
work  should  not  be  consulted  in  studying  the  styles  of 
great  periods  or  the  higher  manifestations  of  an  art. 
These  paintings  were  the  first  to  leave  China  and  find 
their  way  to  Europe.  There  is  no  reason  for  analyzing 
them  here. 

To  sum  up,  Chinese  painting  of  the  last  two  cen- 
turies still  numbers  masters  of  the  first  rank.  This 
alone  Indicates  that  the  sacred  fire  is  by  no  means 


PLATE  XXIII.  HALT  OF  THE  IMPERIAL  HUNT 
Ming  Period.  Sixteenth  Century.  Collection  of  R.  Petrucci. 


EVOLUTION  OF  CHINESE  PAINTING  1 39 

extinct.  Who  shall  say  what  future  awaits  it  amidst 
the  profound  changes  of  today?  After  a period  of 
indecision  which  lasted  for  twenty-five  years,  Japan 
has  found  herself  anew  and  is  seeking  to  revive  her 
artistic  traditions.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  China  will, 
at  all  costs,  avoid  the  same  mistakes  and  that  she  will 
not  be  unmindful,  as  was  her  neighbor,  of  the  history 
of  the  old  masters. 


CONCLUSION 


This  brief  survey  has  shown  how  the  dis- 
tinctive features  of  China’s  artistic  activity 
were  distributed.  Though  subjected  to  vary- 
ing influences,  this  evolution  possesses  a unity  which 
is  quite  as  complete  as  is  that  of  our  Western  art. 
In  the  beginning  there  were  studies,  of  which  we 
know  only  through  written  records.  But  the  relation- 
ship existing  between  writing  and  painting  from  the 
dawn  of  historic  time,  permits  us  to  carry  our  studies 
of  primitive  periods  very  far  back,  even  earlier  than 
the  times  of  the  sculptured  works.  We  thus  wit- 
ness the  gradual  development  of  that  philosophical 
ideal  which  has  dominated  the  entire  history  of 
Chinese  painting,  forcing  it  to  search  for  abstract 
form,  and  which  averted  for  so  long  the  advent  of 
triviality  and  decadence. 

The  goal  sought  by  Chinese  thought  had  already 
been  reached  in  painting  when,  in  the  third  and  fourth 
centuries,  we  are  vouchsafed  a glimpse  of  it.  It  is  a 
vision  of  a high  order,  in  which  the  subtle  intel- 
lectuality corresponds  to  a society  of  refinement  whose 
desires  have  already  assumed  extreme  proportions. 
Like  Byzantium,  heir  to  Hellenistic  art,  the  China 

140 


PLATE  XXIV.  PAINTING  BY  CHANG  CHENG 
Eighteenth  Century.  Collection  of  M.  Worch. 


EVOLUTION  OF  CHINESE  PAINTING  I43 

of  the  Han  dynasty  and  of  Ku  K’ai-chih  was  already 
progressing  toward  bold  conventions  and  soft  har- 
monies, in  which  could  be  felt  both  the  pride  of 
an  intelligence  which  imposed  its  will  upon  Nature, 
and  the  weariness  following  its  sustained  effort. 

This  refinement,  arising  from  the  exhaustion  of 
a world  which  even  thus  retained  a certain  primitive 
ruggedness,  was  succeeded  by  a stupendous  movement 
which  followed  in  the  wake  of  the  preaching  of  Bud- 
dhism. With  the  new  gods  we  see  the  first  appear- 
ance of  definite  and  long-continued  foreign  influences. 
Civilization  was  transformed  and  took  on  new  life. 
Then,  as  in  the  days  of  the  great  forerunners  of  the 
Florentine  Renaissance,  there  appeared  a whole 
group  of  artists,  prepared  by  the  art,  at  once  crude 
and  refined,  of  an  earlier  people.  This  group  set 
resolutely  to  work  at  the  close  study  of  forms,  ascer- 
taining the  laws  of  their  structure  and  the  conditions 
of  the  environment  which  produced  them.  The  period 
in  which  the  work  of  Li  Ssu-hstin,  Li  Chao-tao  and 
Wang  Wei  was  produced  may  be  likened  to  the  fif- 
teenth century  in  Florence  with  Pisanello,  Verocchio, 
Ghirlandajo  and  Masaccio.  Similar  conditions  gave 
birth  to  a movement  that  is  directly  comparable  with 
the  Italian  movement  for,  no  matter  how  varied  the 
outward  appearances  due  to  differences  of  race  and 
civilization,  the  fundamentals  of  art  are  the  same 
everywhere  and  pertain  to  the  same  mental  attitudes. 

The  great  leaders  in  periods  preceding  the  T’ang 


144 


CHINESE  PAINTERS 


dynasty  paved  the  way  to  the  culmination  which  took 
place  in  the  Sung  period,  and  thus  the  fruit  of  that 
prolonged  activity  is  seen  ripening  between  the  tenth 
and  the  thirteenth  centuries.  Through  the  gropings 
of  the  primitive  period,  the  heterodox  philosophies  and 
the  mystic  stirrings  of  Buddhism,  Eastern  thought  had 
arrived  at  an  unquestionably  noble  comprehension  of 
existence.  The  impersonal  mystery  of  the  universe, 
its  mighty  principle,  its  manifold  manifestations  and 
the  secret  which  unveils  itself  in  the  innermost  soul 
of  things  are  the  conceptions  which  form  the  inspira- 
tion of  Chinese  painting.  These  lofty  thoughts  are 
the  source  of  that  spirituality  which  declares  itself 
therein  with  such  nobility.  The  religion  to  which 
they  are  due  will  seem  perhaps,  to  certain  people,  to 
be  broader  and  less  trammeled  than  our  own.  There 
is  no  doubt  that  the  entire  Far  East  was  under  the 
spell  of  its  grandeur. 

Up  to  this  point  art  had  sounded  every  depth  and  . 
attained  the  highest  summits  of  human  achievement. 
Thenceforward  it  concerned  itself  with  varying  mani- 
festations which  were  only  the  different  modes  of  a 
formula  that  was  still  flexible,  until  the  time  when  — the 
great  inspirations  of  the  past  forgotten  — there  appear 
signs  of  a spirit  on  the  quest  for  realism,  emerging 
from  the  ancient  tradition.  This  is  the  distinctive 
note  in  the  evolution  of  Chinese  painting  under  the 
last  two  dynasties.  It  would  seem  as  if,  even  in  this 
guise,  a universal  need  of  the  mind  is  being  satisfied. 


PLATE  XXV.  TIGER  IN  A PINE  FOREST 
Eighteenth  to  Nineteenth  Centuries.  Collection  of  V.  Goloubew. 


'if  ■ 


^ d.  ii^S_l,’ 


-ir. 


■/ 


• -♦  • 


•n 


9 ■ -■•«. 


9 


EVOLUTION  OF  CHINESE  PAINTING  1 47 

a need  which  we,  too,  have  known  after  experiencing  a 
chilling  academicism,  and  when  modern  culture  had 
overthrown  the  ancient  idols.  Chinese  painters  have 
thus  completed  a round  analogous  to  that  traveled 
by  our  own  artists. 

For  the  Far  East  as  for  Europe,  the  problem  now 
presented  is  that  of  a revival.  Bent  beneath  the 
weight  of  the  prestige  of  the  past,  too  learned  in  the 
last  word  of  culture,  modern  art  is  seeking  to  find 
itself,  groping  blindly,  full  of  promising  but  unfinished 
works.  The  time  has  come  when  there  are  signs 
throughout  the  world  of  a desire  for  a universal  civili- 
zation, by  the  reconciling  of  ancient  divergencies. 
Europe  and  the  Far  East  bring  into  contrast  the 
most  vigorous  traditions  in  history.  Henceforward 
there  is  interest  for  both  civilizations  in  study- 
ing and  in  coming  to  understand  a foreign  ideal. 
Though  incomplete,  these  pages  will  perhaps  help  to 
show  that  such  a mutual  comprehension  is  not  im- 
possible and  that,  if  egotistic  prejudices  are  over- 
come, apparent  dissimilarities  will  be  resolved  into  a 
profound  identity.  Thus  will  arise  the  elements  of  a 
new  culture.  In  coming  to  understand  a mood  which 
so  fully  reflects  an  unknown  world,  the  European  mind 
will  discover  principles  which  will  make  it  rise  superior 
to  itself.  May  this  broad  comprehension  of  human 
thought  lead  Europe  to  estimate  with  greater  justice  a 
civilization  numbering  its  years  by  thousands,  and  to 
refrain  from  thwarting  the  fulfillment  of  its  destiny. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


An  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Chinese  Pictorial  Art.  Her- 
bert A.  Giles,  M.A.,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Chinese  in  the 
University  of  Cambridge.  Second  Edition,  revised  and  en- 
larged. London,  Bernard  Quaritch.  1918. 

Painting  in  the  Far  East.  Laurence  Binyon.  Second  Edition, 
revised.  London,  Edward  Arnold.  1913. 

The  Flight  of  the  Dragon.  Laurence  Binyon.  Wisdom  of  the 
East  Series.  London,  John  Murray.  1911. 

Epochs  of  Chinese  and  Japanese  Art.  Ernest  F.  Fenollosa. 
2 volumes.  F.  A.  Stokes  and  Co.,  New  York.  1912. 

Scraps  from  a Collector’s  Note  Book.  F.  Hirth.  Leiden,  New 
York.  1905. 

Chinese  Art.  Stephen  W.  Bushell,  C.M.G.,  B.Sc.,  M.D.  Vic- 
toria and  Albert  Museum  Handbook.  2 volumes.  London. 
1910. 

Chinese  Painting.  Mrs.  Francis  Ayscough.  The  Mentor  of 
Dec.  2,  1918,  Serial  No.  168.  New  York. 


149 


INDEX  OF  PAINTERS  AND  PERIODS 


The  following  summary  furnishes  additional  information  re- 
garding the  painters  to  whom  reference  has  been  made.  Those 
to  whom  the  subject  is  not  familiar  will  find  this  of  assistance 
in  placing  in  their  proper  historical  order  the  different  trends  which 
have  been  indicated  elsewhere.  They  will  also  find  dates  useful 
in  comparing,  if  so  desired,  the  artistic  evolution  of  China  with 
that  of  Europe.  This,  however,  is  only  an  outline.  The  names 
of  some  great  masters  are  omitted,  for  I have  no  wish  to  overload 
the  margin  of  a statement  which  should  be  kept  clear  and  con- 
venient of  access.  I trust  nevertheless  that  these  few  notes 
in  concise  form  will  be  of  use  in  connection  with  the  preceding 
text. 

I.  BEFORE  THE  INTERVENTION  OF  BUDDHISM 

The  Bas-reliefs  of  the  second  Han  dynasty  belong  to  the  second 
and  third  centuries  of  the  Christian  era. 

Ku  K*ai-chihy  also  called  Chang-k’ ang  and  Hu-tou,  was  born 
in  Wu-hsi  in  the  province  of  Kiang-su.  He  lived  at  the  end 
of  the  fourth  and  beginning  of  the  fifth  century.  His  style, 
resembling  that  of  the  Han  period,  informs  us  as  to  the 
character  of  painting  from  the  second  to  the  fifth  century. 
It  is  such  as  to  indicate  a long  antecedent  period  of  cultiva- 
tion and  development. 

Hsieh  Ho  (479-502),  painter  of  the  figure.  He  wrote  a small 
book  setting  forth  the  Six  Canons  or  Requirements  of  paint- 
ing. This  work  informs  us  regarding  the  philosophy  of  art 
in  China  of  the  fifth  century. 


152  INDEX  OF  PAINTERS  AND  PERIODS 


II.  THE  INTERVENTION  OF  BUDDHISM 

It  is  difficult  to  set  an  exact  date  for  the  first  contact  of  Bud- 
dhist with  Chinese  art.  It  may  be  assumed  that  the  influence  of 
Buddhist  art  began  to  be  felt  noticeably  in  China  in  the  fifth 
century.  In  the  seventh  and  eighth  centuries  it  was  so  wide- 
spread as  to  be  definitely  established. 

HI.  THE  T’ANG  DYNASTY 

A.D.  618-905 

Wu  Tao-tzu,  also  called  Wu  Tao-yuan.  Born  in  Honan  toward 
the  end  of  the  eighth  century.  His  influence  was  felt  in 
Japanese  art  as  well  as  in  that  of  China.  He  painted  land- 
scape, figures  and  Buddhist  subjects. 

Li  Ssu-hsiin  (651-715  or  720)  is  considered  as  the  founder  of  the 
Northern  School.  He  appears  to  have  felt  the  influence 
which  Buddhist  art  brought  in  its  train. 

Li  Chao-tao,  son  of  Li  Ssu-hsiin,  lived  at  the  end  of  the  seventh 
and  beginning  of  the  eighth  centuries.  He  is  said  to  have 
varied  from  his  father’s  style  and  even  surpassed  it. 

Wang  Wei,  also  called  Wang  Mo-Jzi  (699-759),  poet,  painter  and 
critic.  The  great  reformer  of  Chinese  landscape  painting. 
Considered  as  the  founder  of  the  Southern  School  and  the 
originator  of  monochrome  painting  in  Chinese  ink. 

Han  Kan,  renowned  in  the  period  Cien-pao  (742-759).  Accord- 
ing to  tradition  he  was  a pupil  of  Wang  Wei.  His  school 
possessed  in  the  highest  degree  knowledge  of  the  form, 
characteristics  and  movements  of  the  horse. 

IV.  THE  SUNG  DYNASTY 

A.D.  960-1260 

Tung  Yuan.  Tenth  century.  Landscape  painter.  He  worked 
in  both  the  Northern  and  Southern  styles. 


INDEX  OF  PAINTERS  AND  PERIODS  I53 


Cbii  JaUy  Buddhist  monk.  Tenth  century.  He  was  at  first  in- 
fluenced by  the  work  of  Tung  Yiian,  but  later  created  an 
individual  style. 

A/a  Yuan.  End  of  the  twelfth  and  beginning  of  the  thirteenth 
century.  Member  of  the  Academy  of  Painting.  He  was 
the  author  of  a strong  and  vigorous  style  which  characterized 
the  school  founded  by  him. 

Hsia  Kuei  served  in  the  college  at  Han-Iin  in  the  reign  of  the 
Emperor  Ning  Tsung  (1195-1224).  He  was  considered  a 
master  of  chiaroscuro  and  atmospheric  perspective. 

A/a  Lin,  son  of  Ma  Yiian.  Thirteenth  century.  His  work  shows 
that  he  painted  even  more  in  the  tradition  of  the  Southern 
School  than  his  father  and  uncle. 

Li  Lung-mien  or  Li  Kung-lin.  Born  at  Chou  in  Ngan-huei.  He 
held  public  offices,  which  he  resigned  in  1100  to  retire  to  the 
mountain  of  Lung-mien,  where  he  died  in  1106.  Noted  for 
his  calligraphy  as  well  as  for  his  painting.  At  one  time  in 
his  life,  under  religious  influences,  he  painted  a great  number 
of  Buddhist  figures. 

A/i  Fei  or  Mi  Yuan-chang  or  Mi  Nan-kung  (1051-1107).  Cal- 
ligraphist,  painter  and  critic.  He  used  strong  inking  in  a 
style  in  which  the  simplification  of  monochrome  is  carried 
to  the  extreme.  He  had  a son.  Mi  Yu-Jen,  who  painted  in 
his  father’s  style  and  lived  to  an  advanced  age. 

Hui  Tsung,  emperor,  poet,  painter  and  calligraphist.  Born  in 
1082,  ascended  the  throne  in  1100,  lost  his  throne  in  1125 
and  died  in  captivity  in  1135.  In  the  first  year  of  his  reign 
he  founded  the  Academy  of  Calligraphy  and  Painting.  He 
made  a large  collection  of  valuable  paintings  and  rare  objects 
of  art  which  was  scattered  at  the  plundering  of  his  capital 
by  the  Tartars  in  1225. 


154  INDEX  OF  PAINTERS  AND  PERIODS 


V.  YUAN  DYNASTY 

A.D.  1260-1368 

Chao  Meng-fuy  also  called  Tsu-ang.  Born  in  1254.  Man  of  letters, 
painter  and  calligraphist.  He  was  a great  landscape  painter 
and  in  the  first  rank  as  a painter  of  horses. 

Ch'ien  HsiXariy  also  called  Ch'ien  Shun-chiX,  lived  at  the  end  of 
the  thirteenth  and  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century. 
He  painted  figures,  landscape,  flowers  and  birds.  He  em- 
ployed the  style  and  methods  of  the  Sung  dynasty. 

Yen  Hui  lived  in  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries.  His 
paintings  were  numerous  and  indicate  a master  of  the  first 
order.  He  painted  many  Buddhist  and  Taoist  subjects. 

Huang  Kung-wang.  Fourteenth  century.  At  first  influenced  by 
the  style  of  Tung  Yiian  and  Chii  Jan,  he  later  acquired  an 
individual  style  and  was  one  of  the  great  founders  of  schools 
in  the  Yiian  period. 

Ni  Tsan,  also  called  Yiin-Iin  (1301-1374).  Man  of  letters,  callig- 
raphist, collector  of  books  and  paintings.  He  is  considered 
to  be  one  of  the  greatest  painters  of  his  time. 


VI.  THE  MING  DYNASTY 

A.D.  1368-1644 

Chou  Chih-mien  lived  in  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries. 

His  subjects  were  principally  birds  and  flowers. 

Shen  Chou,  also  called  Shen  K'l-nan  or  Shen  K'l  (1427-1507). 
Landscape  painter.  His  composition  is  at  times  overladen, 
as  is  often  seen  in  Ming  art. 

Lu  Fu  lived  in  the  fifteenth  century.  He  made  a special  study 
of  the  plum  tree  in  monochrome.  He  is  comparable  to  the 
great  Sung  masters. 

Wang  Yuan-chang.  Died  in  1407  at  the  age  of  73.  He  painted 
the  bamboo  and  plum  tree  in  monochrome.  Jle  carried  on 


INDEX  OF  PAINTERS  AND  PERIODS  I55 


the  Sung  tradition,  with  which  he  was  directly  connected, 
and  was  the  founder  of  a school. 

Wen  Cbeng-ming  (1480-1559),  painter,  poet  and  calligraphist. 
He  is  often  compared  with  Chao  Meng-fu. 

Ju-sue.  Known  only  under  this  appellation.  He  lived  in  the 
fifteenth  century  and  went  to  Japan,  where  his  influence 
was  marked.  (Japanese  Josetsu.) 


VII.  THE  CH’ING  DYNASTY 
1644--1912 

Yun  Chou-pHngy  appellation  NanYieny  true  name  YiXn  Ko  (1633- 
1690).  He  studied  at  first  under  the  influence  of  Wang 
Shu-ming  and  Siu  Hi.  He  painted  figures,  flowers  and 
landscape. 

Shen  Nan-p'ing  lived  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries. 
He  was  called  to  Japan  in  1720  and  founded  there  the  school 
of  Ming-Ch’ing  or  the  modern  Chinese  school. 

Huang  Yin-piau  or  Huang-shen.  At  the  height  of  his  career 
between  1727  and  i':’46.  He  painted  landscape  and,  toward 
the  end  of  his  life,  legendary  figures  of  Buddhism  and  Taoism 
with  a technique  that  was  skillful  but  often  precise  and 
somewhat  weak. 


i 


-V 


GETTY  CENTER  LIBRARY 


3 3125  00121  9142 


